


Dragon Police

by GaoGaiGar_The_King



Category: Brave Police J-Decker, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Gen, It doesn't have to make sense, Please don't make me make it make sense, Shit it's actually getting pretty serious whoops, This is a stupid crossover that came from a trippy dream I had
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2018-10-19 18:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10645848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GaoGaiGar_The_King/pseuds/GaoGaiGar_The_King
Summary: The Dovahkiin finds herself in a world with robot police and a dragon she must hunt down, while the police treat her like a criminal and only one kind soul comes to her aid, acting as her point of contact with this strange new world.





	1. I tell you, I tell you, The Dragonborn Comes

_Could this situation get any worse?_ Sariel thought to herself, drawing back her bow even as she used Dragonrend for about the fifth time, watching as the great beast of a dragon circling them was forced to land in the courtyard of the College of Winterhold. She thought she saw Lydia flinch next to her at the sound of the Thu'um. While Lydia was used to it by now, having journeyed with her since Sariel discovered her identity as the Last Dragonborn, or Laat Dovahkiin as both the Greybeards and dragons addressed her, the Bosmer was more than aware her voice was becoming much harsher.

That's what happens when you endure a fight with a dragon as long as this one.

One of the Mages of the College, she hadn't recognised who, had called to her that they had something planned and that 'Arch-Mage, just hold on a little bit longer!' before all of the mages had disappeared inside.  _How fucking long do you want me to hold on?!_ Making a frustrated growling sound, she loosed the arrow from her Daedric bow, watching as it soared right into the dragon's eye, a pained roar following it. Her aim was on point, a fortunate skill for her.

Fortunately, her skill with a greatsword was also unmatched, as she traded her bow in favour of charging the beast with her Daedric Greatsword, fondly remembering crafting it along with her armour.

She certainly passed as more intimidating since then. Not that of course the sight of the enraged Dovahkiin charging at you through fire and ice wasn't scary but, well, wearing Daedric Armour certainly made it more effective, even despite her having left the helmet a while ago in favour of the Aetherium Crown on her head. As well as looking beautiful, the thing was also useful, even when it was being covered in dragon's blood from her vicious attack.

An arrow whistled past her ear as Lydia shot at the dragon, a flash of Ebony striking the side of it's neck and bouncing off. Dragonscales were pretty tough, unfortunately.

"WILL - YOU - JUST - DIE - ALREADY!" Sariel screamed in between her slashes, although all she got was pained sounds from the dragon. Inwardly she felt kind of sorry for it, understanding every word of it's cries. But then, it had also attacked her College, something she was not ready to forgive so easily. Even when it tried to snap her arms off. Especially when it tried to snap her arms off.

Suddenly, a loud sound rang through the courtyard, akin to the Tonal Resonators of the Dwemer.

An empty courtyard.

* * *

Sariel awoke with a pain in her head, gripping it with one clawed gauntlet and shaking it slightly. Wherever she was, it was completely dark, and she found herself grateful for the faint red glow of her armour and weapons. Once the fuzziness and dull ache eased, she forced herself onto her feet, pulling her hand away to see faint blood on it. She became aware that she was bleeding and in a rather large structure, like an empty house but made of stone. Markarth maybe?

Sariel also became aware of the fact, when she looked around, that she was completely alone. Not even Lydia, wearing the carved Nordic armour she had gifted to her - Something the Housecarl had been overjoyed with and treated with much care to her slight amusement - was there, running to her with cries of 'My Thane, are you alright?'. Or maybe her name, it had taken a long time for Sariel to crack Lydia's submissive position to her and for them to become truly the closest of friends, calling each other by name - Or dovahkiin when Lydia wanted to tease her.

Speaking of, not even the dragon was there. It wasn't dead, Sariel knew that for a fact because she hadn't absorbed it's soul. And, well, it couldn't exactly be lost, the mere though of losing something as large and pleased to make itself known as a  _dragon_ had Sariel making a somewhat delirious snort.

And wherever the fuck she was, it was cold, and her belly was starting to grumble. They'd just been about to head inside for dinner when that damn dragon had appeared. Cursing in the Dovah's tongue, Sariel looked in her small food supply to see only some apples and a piece of bread. At least she had a pouch full of a few thousand coin on her to buy something.

Maybe she should find something to bring home to her adopted daughter, Runa, as a present. Yes, that sounded perfect. Smiling to herself slightly at the thought of the delighted and grateful reaction that would no doubt get from Runa, Sariel set about finding an exit from... Wherever she was. "What a wonderful place to be." She grumbled out loud, walking forwards and meeting a wall. Wandering around it, she soon came to a door, one she had never come across before. Strange and definitely nothing in the hold of Markath. Upon testing it, she found it to be locked.

 _Well, no matter where you are a lock is a lock._ Sariel mused, taking a lockpick from her satchel. Picking locks was something she had plenty of experience with, both at home in Valenwood when she was younger, forced to resort to stealing to survive, and during her time with the Thieves' Guild of Riften, where she had risen to become their Guildmaster. She still was, although she kept that fact hidden away, not wanting to risk drawing her daughter into such a lifestyle.

The lock soon gave way without a struggle and the door swung open to a city. But it certainly wasn't any city in Skyrim or anywhere else Sariel had been. Perhaps she wasn't even on Nirn anymore, and had vanished like the Dwemer did.

The metal constructs around her certainly looked like they could pass for Dwemer work, with carriages made of metal and small animunculi displayed in windows. And people she couldn't recognise staring at her. They were certainly no Mer and looked like they had never seen one before. They might well be of Men, but not one that Sariel recognised. Sheathing her weapon, the Dragonborn set to wandering the streets in search of a trader with food, eating one of her few apples as she walked, just for a small amount of sustenance. Runa had given it to her before she left home, a sweet thought of the child.

Night was falling and even as she travelled from the busier areas of the city to the quieter ones, nobody seemed to have anything to offer. In fact, when she asked one of the men passing her where she could find a goods trader, he had simply stared at her as though she had sprouted more than one head before crying something in a tongue she could not recognise and running away.

Upon checking in a window, Sariel definitely still had just one head. No help was forthcoming though and she was forced to settle down on the streets for the night, resting to the side of one of the buildings. A closed shop, by the seems of it, displaying large screens that showed moving pictures. Briefly Sariel wondered what magic made them work, but then she let the sleep claim her. It wasn't the safest or most comfortable of places, but at least there was no risk of her being robbed. One did not simply steal from the Dragonborn, after all.

 

A few more days of exploration had yielded nothing useful either. Sariel had found a shop with food lining the outside and entered, requesting some meat and placing ten septims on the counter. The trader had simply stared at her and the money, eventually picking one of the coins and from the way his expression changed, they must not use the septim here. Strange, most places she had travelled to used the septim as currency.

Making another enquiry ended up with the trader becoming hostile. She couldn't understand what he was yelling but, well, she knew when she was welcome and not. And pointing to the door while shouting generally meant not welcome.

The next night ended up with her breaking into one of the shops, unseen to the outside and sneaking some food away with her. The years as a thief were certainly paying off, as nothing seemed to detect her presence and she made away with a fresh steak. She had to cook it herself but that wasn't a problem, a quick burst with the Flames spell had made it nice and crispy. It tasted nice too, if a bit burnt on some parts. Sariel made a note that using magic wasn't the most tasteful of cooking methods and definitely should be used as a last resort.

The next day she found she hadn't been as undetected as she initially thought as well. One of the screens with moving pictures showed her taking the meat. The picture was blurry and she appeared as little more than a faintly red moving shadow but that was enough for her not to want to risk breaking into anywhere again, especially since she didn't know what had caught her. Maybe they had some kind of spell on the building that tracked those who entered. Or something. This was a world of inventions that she didn't understand.

Now Sariel found herself hunched to a wall in what appeared to be a residential area, with night having just fallen. A child had thought her a beggar earlier and given her a coin of whatever currency they used here, but another trip to a trader had given the impression it was next to worthless. At least she hadn't been threatened this time and had left of her own accord. Now it was raining and when she looked at her dwindling food supply, there was only her bread left. Sighing, Sariel bit into the bread, musing on what she could do now, how she was going to survive. "Ruth." She muttered in draconic. (Swearing in the Dragon language was a habit she had got in to since adopting Runa, and something that Lydia was quickly learning it as well. The Housecarl had even asked for lessons in draconic, something Sariel thought was a joke at first but then obliged to.)

* * *

"Azuki, you can't just pick up strangers off of the street!" Kurumi frowned at her older sister. They had seen a strange looking woman hunched over some bread, looking like she hadn't bathed in a week, by their house. "Besides, she looks scary and keeps giving us funny looks."

"But she's also hurt and probably starving. I saw her yesterday by the mall, I don't think she has anywhere to live." Azuki tapped her chin, thinking. "You can't just judge someone by the way they look and besides, she doesn't look exactly human. Maybe she has something to do with one of Yuuta's bioengineering cases and that's why she looks so scary. If we take her to Yuuta, Deckerd and him can investigate." Kurumi conceded at that point.

"Fine, but if she steps out of line, then I'm kicking her out straight away."

Azuki smiled, that innocent and disarming smile she had. A trick she probably learnt from their mother, the few times they saw her. Kurumi shook her head and carried on walking home, she was not waiting in this rain, no matter what Azuki thought.

Walking to the stranger, Azuki smiled and offered a hand when she was noticed, getting a good look at the stranger's face for the first time. She had red paint around her left eye, one strip above it and two below. Here eyes were also an odd yellowish colour and there was a scar just below it. Added to the pointy ears, she definitely wasn't human. "Who are you?" Azuki asked, keeping a friendly tone. The stranger just stared at her for a long moment. "Can you not talk?" She asked, crouching down to meet the strangers eyes.

She got an answer, but it was in a language she didn't know. Judging by the way the stranger looked down and took a slow bite of her bread, it was some form of apology. Azuki grabbed her hand, giving it a light tug. This obviously startled the stranger as she jerked and her eyes snapped up to look at Azuki again, dropping the bread and her hand flew to... _Was that a weapon?!_ Azuki tried not to be disturbed by that. Kagerou had held her at weapon point, after all, although Azuki had known from the start he had no intention to harm her. The hand moved from the weapon and Azuki heard something whispered, it sounded like 'Laas Yah Nir' and the stranger looked around the empty street before her eyes went down to her bread in a soggy puddle.

Azuki tugged again and this time the stranger got up, although she still looked guarded and her eyes flicked around as they walked. She also stood much taller than her, Azuki noted, and seemed a lot stronger.

Azuki lead her to the house and made her sit at the dinner table, Kurumi sitting opposite and staring her down. Shaking her head slightly, Azuki brought over a plate of food, some of the spare left over from dinner. From the way the stranger looked at it, she'd never eaten a proper meal in her life, although she at least had some table manners. Azuki wouldn't lie, she was expecting it to be scoffed down like a wild animal, although the fact the stranger managed to politely shovel it down made her think Yuuta could take lessons. Sighing and smiling, Azuki decided the next plan of attack would be getting the stranger clean and with a bed. Yuuta's room would do, she decided, leaving Kurumi and the stranger at the dinner table.

Yuuta's room was clean, for once, and Azuki changed the bedding before going to run a bath. Once it was done, she headed back to the dining room, blinking in surprise as she found the stranger washing her own dishes. Kurumi just shrugged at her and Azuki put her smile back on, leading the stranger to Yuuta's room. She clearly got the message that this is where she would be staying by the fact she took her weapons from her back, leaning them on the bedside table. Although Azuki had a feeling those weren't the only weapons she had. She then lead the stranger to the bathroom, leaving them there.

* * *

Sariel stared at the bath. Hot, bubbly water. Why where these people helping her? Or, the one anyway? The other still regarded her with indifference although she had a feeling that she wanted the Aetheruim Crown. She had pointed to it several times while Sariel was eating, making gestured as though asking for it to be given to her.  _Like hell._ Sariel thought to herself, carefully taking it off and the rest of her armour soon followed. It was rare she ever took it off and the chance to stretch her body properly and soak in the hot water was way too much for her to refuse.

Once done in the bath, she gathered her things again and headed to the room. She'd give her armour a proper clean tomorrow, it really needed one. She went through her nightly ritual when in a new place, checking the security of her room before settling in for a restless night.

Hopefully tomorrow she could figure out a way to properly thank these people. 


	2. HOLD UP!

The morning found Sariel at at the kitchen table with an inkpot, quill and roll of paper, sketching on it while Urunyan watched, his eyes following the quill intently. She gave the occasional glance to the cat, her eyes observing him just as intently. He reminded her of a tinier version of a Sabre Cat, and being on the wrong end of the teeth on those things was pretty painful. And she'd learnt long ago not to assume that something small was harmless, size was exceptionally deceiving. The thing had already helped her with her armour cleaning, which meant getting in the way and making life generally harder, but whenever she had asked it to leave her it just meowed. Not even Kyne's Peace had made the cat go away, only calmed it for a few minutes.

Sariel accepted she would have a small, feline companion for the day whether she liked it or not. And right then, she really didn't like it. "Curses!"

Urunyan had finally pounced at her quill, knocking over the inkpot on the way. Her paper was ruined. She was pretty sure the table might well be ruined too. Fortunately, jumping from her chair had saved her from getting any of the mess on herself and she grabbed the cat in her hands, holding it up to eye level. "What was that for?" She asked from it, making a mildly irritated sound as the cat just flicked the tip of his tail.

Sariel nearly dropped him from surprise when Azuki rounded the corner, yelling "Urunyan!" while staring at the cat in her hands. Urunyan just meowed again, putting on an innocent look. Maybe that was the cat's name? Sariel tilted her head slightly, thinking about it and breaking the word into three parts. Yes, certainly a name. "Uh Run Yan." She repeated, the foreign name sounding odd in her mixed Dovah-Bosmeri accent. But it was there nonetheless and clearly recognisable, judging from the way Urunyan meowed and settled down in her hands, licking one of his paws.

Azuki smiled at that. While it was clear the stranger did not understand Japanese, there was hope she could learn at least some simple things. She waved, getting the stranger's attention before pointing to herself and saying her name slowly.

Sariel stared for a moment, putting Urunyan down as she considered the word, again breaking it to three parts. Another name. "Ah Zuh Ki." Seeing Azuki smile wider, clearly in approval, put a small smile on her lips too. And then Sariel introduced herself, waiting for a pause after her name as though considering before adding 'Dovahkiin' as well. Azuki looked thoughtful at that but then she nodded, understanding. Turning to the mess on the table, Sariel frowned and made a rather disgruntled sound, not knowing how to clean it or if it even would come clean.

Azuki must have noticed this too because she stepped forward, picking up the mess. The paper went straight to the bin while the now empty inkpot and quill were both put to one side, safely away from the cloth and spray Azuki then used to clean the table. Once the cleaning was done Sariel sat back in her seat, the frown still on her face until it became a look of utter confusion as Azuki put an empty book and pen in front of her. She picked up the pen, eyeing it carefully and being at a loss as to how this would help, where was the ink for it. Her thoughts were cut short as the pen was plucked from her hand and Azuki started writing with it, drawing letters with lines that looked like pictures. It definitely reminded Sariel of Dovah writing.

Claiming the pen back, Sariel started writing in Tamrielic before realising after the first sentence that Azuki would be able to make as much sense of that as she could of whatever Azuki had wrote. Instead she started drawing pictures, writing the keywords beneath them to get across the meaning. It seemed to work as Azuki's eyes lit up slightly and she started doing the same.

* * *

 

A few hours later Yuuta entered his house, Deckerd in his human-sized body right behind him. The Brave Police had just finished with their latest string of armed robberies, defeating a mech piloted by a flamboyant wannabe prince. Unfortunately said flamboyant wannabe prince did not go down without a fight, cursing the Brave Police in ways that had Saejima covering Yuuta's ears. Deckerd's body had sustained damage in the fight and was stuck fused with the J-Roader for a while, resulting in Toudou moving his AI over to the human sized body - A much more welcome improvement to the tiny replicas.

Their arrests had also included a woman in heavy armour with weapons to her back teeth, swords and bows and arrows. They suspected that her presence was unrelated to the crime and she had helped them fight the robot, but she had also attacked Build Tiger afterwards. Yuuta had the impression she didn't know who they were, backed up by the fact they didn't understand each other. Her weapons had been confiscated and she was in a holding cell, although the ease with which she had broken free of her handcuffs made Yuuta doubt how long they could hold her for even with Saejima promising their best men were on guard. He'd assigned Duke to be on guard too, since the Knight Detective was free at the time.

The woman sat at the table armed with swords and bows and arrows in heavy armour having a backwards and forwards of scribbling on paper with Azuki, reminded them both of their mysterious prisoner. They were talking, exceedingly brokenly but it was a conversation that was half Japanese and half the strange language that Deckerd recognised the other woman as speaking. There was also Kashiwazaki staring in amazement as what appeared to he a half healed cut on the woman's head disappeared right before his eyes as she drank from a red bottle. THAT was definitely something... Unusual.

"Bio-scientist work?" Yuuta murmured quietly, hearing rather than seeing Deckerd shrug behind him. He was equally at a loss. Clearing his throat, Yuuta watched as his Azuki and Kashiwazaki startled in their seats and the stranger looked at him with a sharp and almost suspicious eye that immediately turned to Deckerd. Azuki jumped up, clapping her hands together and running to get some snacks from the side, freshly cooked. Yuuta walked to the table, eyes skipping over the drawings there. Maps of places he didn't recognise marked with houses (Home, maybe?), pictures of dragons, men, what looked like gods, kings and one that looked a lot like their prisoner, words written beneath them that he couldn't read, but he guessed them to be what they were in the strange language. Even when they looked rather much like claw marks.

Sariel kept watch on the child, from the looks of it he and Azuki were related. She had her suspicions about the animunculi though. There was only two of those that had never attacked her and she didn't hold much hopes for this one either. The child was introduced to her as 'Yuuta' by Azuki, a name that took her two tries to get right while Yuuta just grinned and laughed, although he then turned serious and dragged Azuki away down the hall, the animunculi following. Did he guard the child? It seemed that way.

"Azuki, what do you know about her?" Yuuta questioned right away in a quiet tone, knowing his sister would oblige him with the truth if she knew anything.

"Well," Azuki put her hand to her chin, thinking. "not much. I know that her name is Sariel and she is the Dragonborn, a mortal born with the blood of a dragon, some kind of gift from a god. She's a Bosmer - A Wood Elf, yes I know it sounds ridiculous - who comes from a place called Valenwood although she lives in somewhere called Skyrim now with a friend of hers named Lydia and her adopted daughter. Sariel and Lydia were fighting a dragon when she ended up here by some magic, and she assumes her friend and the dragon ended up here as well." She explained, shrugging slightly.

If it wasn't his own sister, Yuuta thought she would have been making this stuff up. It sounded like something out of a children's book. Sighing, he conceded. "I think we have her friend, and we're going to have to arrest her." He frowned, looking over at Deckerd who nodded in agreement.

Azuki was about to protest to that for a moment before realising it was pointless: She couldn't stop Yuuta doing his job. "Alright. Just don't cause a fight in the house. The incident with that moth monster took long enough to be fixed." Yuuta cringed at the memory and nodded. That moth still gave him nightmares - He'd never liked bugs one bit. Bugs and ghosts. Azuki watched, sighing as Yuuta put on his brave 'I am a policeman' face and left the room, Deckerd following behind. Once again, Azuki found herself wondering if letting Yuuta take this position of responsibility was too much for a child to truly handle, even with the help of Deckerd and the other Brave Police. Either way, Yuuta had matured quite a bit in the last year or so, especially since the incident with the Fahrzeugs and it was too late to take that back, although Yuuta could still act like the goofy kid he was on occasion.

Sariel was happily sat at the table stroking Urunyan, gently rubbing behind his ears with one knuckle. She heard the footsteps approaching behind her but she most certainly wasn't expecting to have metal restraints slapped on her wrists by the kid. He was saying something to her but the words had no meaning, it was just noise. A large, rather strong hand pressed on her shoulder and pushed, at the same time pushing Sariel's mind back to the last time she had been in restraints.

_ Helgen. _

_ Condemned to death by the Empire. _

_ Roughly being pushed down on the executioner's block. The executioner readying his axe, sunlight glinting off the freshly sharpened blade as he got into position to behead her. _

_ Dragon roars in the distance. _

_ Alduin landing on the tower beside her, staring her down before laying waste to the town but saving her from certain death. _

_ Chaos. _

Sariel's instinct was to lash out, to fight. The restraints snapped under her strength and her elbow flew to sink into the side of whatever was behind her. It met solid metal. The animunculi. She could have sworn she heard it grunt in what sounded like pain while the child yelled. A blow came towards her side but she dodged around it, spinning to face the animunculi, her fist connecting with his face moments later.

She could hear Azuki yelling, she wasn't sure who at, but either way it had little meaning to her. Nothing else was registering but her will to fight back, half of her mind still in Helgen, the yelling blending neatly into the cries of the town burning, people suffering needlessly as the World Eater attacked without mercy.

Alduin was gone, she knew that. The Dragonborn had slayed him with her own blade in Sovengarde. But memories were a strong thing.

"IIS SLEN-" Before she could finish, a gunshot echoed in the room. "NUAAGGHHH!" Sariel's hand flew to her shoulder, clutching at the point where the bullet had found a weak point in the armour, sinking straight into her flesh. It hurt more than any arrow she had felt and the pain distracted her long enough that something struck her head, hard.

Sariel swiftly fell unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My cat helped me write this chapter. You can guess just how useful she was.


	3. Beware, Beware, The Dragonborn Comes

Slowly the Dragonborn woke, becoming aware that she was seated and of gentle vibrations around her and the humming of mechanical components around her. The bullet wound was still in her shoulder but that shouldn’t be a problem to fix, or so she hoped. Cracking her eyes open, she stole a quick glance around. She was in one of the metal carriages and the child, Yuuta, was in the seat behind a large wheel that turned itself. He was unaware she was awake. The animunculi was nowhere in the carriage and she was stripped of her weapons, although she still had her Voice and her own two fists.

_ Good. _

A glance out the window showed that the carriage was travelling very fast. There was no chance she was going to risk jumping out, even if using Become Ethereal would save her from harm. No, she settled on waiting out the ride.

It was a small way of Sariel admitting she had no clue how to escape this carriage. Shifting slightly in her seat, she quietly cast a healing spell that fixed the bullet hole in her shoulder and chased away any other lingering pains. It was refreshing. The child was still unaware, too busy staring out the window.

“Deckerd?” Yuuta called.

‘Dek ka do’, Sariel broke it up mentally. Another name. She nearly had a heart attack when what appeared to be the carriage itself answered. She’d learned not to question what was impossible or not in her small time here but still, that was ridiculous. And yet it happened.

“Yes, Yuuta?” Deckerd asked, his tone curious.

“Are we doing the right thing? I feel like we’re just causing harm, rather than helping as we should.” Yuuta looked thoughtful.

Deckerd mulled on how much Yuuta had matured. When he first started his job, he would never have questioned things like that, too excited to be making arrests and beating criminals. But a lot had happened and Yuuta had been forced to make a lot of hard decisions. This was one of them, to meddle in something they didn’t really understand at all. “I don’t know, Yuuta.” He replied after a minute. “These are some of the choices we have to make and deal with the end result, whether it is good or bad.” 

Yuuta nodded, sighing. He really hoped they were doing the right thing. Turning to the side, he jumped in his seat and screamed as he was face to face with Sariel, their noses almost touching as she had moved into the middle and was leaning between the front seats. She simply stared at him, waiting for him to properly recover before speaking in extremely broken Japanese.

“Who are you talking to?” Sariel questioned, watching as Yuuta tried to put on an ‘I’m in change’ matter-of-fact expression and tone. Sariel was a parent, she wasn’t fooled. Runa had tried to pull the same card when Sariel had rescued her from a ruin filled with Draugr. Runa had a nightmare about it afterwards and Sariel had to spend the night soothing her child. This wasn’t the same but, well, it was just that look.

“Deckerd, of course.” Yuuta puffed his cheeks but deflated as Sariel just stared at him with a look of complete loss. “He’s the super strong robot you tried to beat up earlier.” That was sufficient enough of an explanation as Sariel wrinkled her brow a moment before sitting back in the seat.

So the animunculi had a name. It was a robot. Called Deckerd. Who could talk. It was a good job that she had stopped questioning things a long time ago or thinking on that might well have broke her brain. “Where are you taking me and what is this… Thing we are in?”

“Phew, you really don’t know anything, do you?” Sariel gave Yuuta a pointed look that just spelled ‘I’m clearly not from here, how would I know’. He got it right away, taking in a deep breath and going teacher mode. “We’re taking you to prison. As for what you’re in, it’s a police car.” Nodding to himself, Yuuta then grinned. “But it’s also Deckerd.”

Sariel though she could feel her brain crack a little at that. So the animunculi had a name, and could talk, and was also one of these police cars. She opted to focus on what she could process right then. “You are the Hold Guards then?” She asked, seeing Yuuta looked confused. “You arrest the people who commit crimes.” She tried again, watching as Yuuta brightened and nodded. “So I’m under arrest?”

“Well… I don’t really know if we should arrest you, since you never committed a crime. But we are treating you as a suspect until we know more.” Yuuta explained.

Sariel nodded. “So you are not going to take me to the executioner’s block like the last people to arrest me?”

Yuuta shook his head rather vehemently at that, crying out. “No! We don’t execute people here, that’s a crime.” Sariel nodded again, smiling slightly now she had ascertained her position.

“Very well, Yuuta and-” She looked at the car, still mostly not believing it. “Deckerd. I’ll let you put me in the restraints again when we get to the prison. I apologise for before, but the last people to arrest me tried to execute me and I was saved by a dragon attacking of all things. Not very pleasant, as you can guess.”

It was Sariel’s turn to jump in her seat when the car ACTUALLY FUCKING SPOKE TO HER. “Why were you being executed before?”

“Krosis.” Sariel muttered, taking a breath to regain her composure. “The Empire’s legion arrested the leader of a rebel group and everyone in the area. I had the misfortune to be travelling in the same direction, and so they arrested me too, assuming that I was a rebel.”

Yuuta’s child curiosity piked soon enough. “Did you get a good look at the dragon? I can’t believe you really were saved by one.”

Sariel smiled wryly. “Oh, I had a great look at Alduin while I was bent over the executioner’s block.” Yuuta made a quiet whistle at that. “And I’m willing to bet Alduin regretted accidentally saving me from death that day.” She added.

“Because you’re the Dragonborn?” Yuuta guessed, seeing Sariel nod.

“Indeed. More importantly, I am the Last Dragonborn and so I was fated to defeat Alduin in combat, which I did so, in the grand realm of Sovengarde.” Sariel tilted her head slightly. “How did you know this?”

“Azuki told me.” Yuuta grinned, sitting back in his seat and contemplating how awesome that all sounded. He had so many questions about the dragons and being Dragonborn and more to ask but unfortunately they were soon approaching the police station.

Sariel stuck to her word when they arrived, waiting for Yuuta to open the car door and when he did she climbed out, offering her hands to him to be cuffed. Yuuta smiled as he put the cuffs on her wrists. This was clearly a child that had been made to fight too much, by the way he seemed so pleased with her submission. Turning slightly at the sound of metal shifting, Sariel looked just in time to see Deckerd transform, the car shifting and unfolding into a robot, larger than the Dwemer Centurions. It was certainly impressive and if it hadn’t been for Yuuta’s words earlier, she might well have lost her jaw on the ground.

“Is this a normal thing around here?” Sariel questioned as Yuuta lead her inside the station, looking around them, at the corridors and guards patrolling them.

“If you mean about Deckerd, no. There’s only a few Brave Police. Deckerd, Duke, Gunmax, Shadowmaru and the Build Team, Dumpson, McCrane, Power Joe and Drill Boy.” Yuuta listed on his fingers. “And I’m their boss.” He was certainly proud of his position.

“Don’t forget Regina and the Scotland Yard Brave Police over in England.” Deckerd added, earning a nod from Yuuta.

“Aren’t you a bit young to have such a job? Do not get me wrong, there are Jarls and governors in Skyrim that are barely above children but this seems dangerous.” Sariel questioned, a part of her mother instinct kicking in. It wasn’t strong but she had always got on well enough with children, a small part of her mourning that her dragon blood meant she could never have any of her own. She thought again of Runa, brave and adventurous and always happy to throw herself into trouble, a part of her wondering if Runa did it to impress her.  _ She must be giving Rayya and Valdimar a run for their money by now. _

“Don’t worry, Deckerd and everyone protects me.” Yuuta smiled and Sariel through a look over her shoulder to see Deckerd smiling as well. They were close, that’s for sure.

Any further musings from her were cut off when Sariel was lead into a cell and she heard a familiar, reverent voice behind her. “Honour to you, my Thane.” Turning, Sariel smiled as she saw Lydia in the cell opposite, one hand over her chest in traditional greeting.

“And to you, Lydia. How many times have I asked you not to be so formal?” Sariel raised an eyebrow, seeing a smile form on Lydia’s lips.

“Too many. So even the great and mighty Dovahkiin is susceptible to children putting her in small walled cells?” Lydia teased, making Sariel snort, walking to the edge of her cell to get a better look of Sariel’s face. The Dragonborn always made it entertaining to be teased.

“The great and mighty Dovahkiin must also bend to the will of mortal law.” Sariel commented, stretching slightly as Yuuta uncuffed her and locked the cell, trapping her in. The  child looked both pleased and confused by the sudden exchange of Tamrielic between them and that they clearly knew each other.

“I like it when a hunch is right.” She heard drift down the corridor as Yuuta and Deckerd left.

“So how exactly did you land yourself here? I thought my fierce and loyal Housecarl did not break the law?” Sariel enquired, more than interested to hear this story and it showed in the grin she had. One of her hands slipped through the bars and Lydia took hold of it, squeezing her fingers gently. Their arms were both stretched across the corridor but neither minded, it had been so long they needed to have contact somehow.

“I do not know what law I may have broken. I came across two rather large animunculi fighting, bigger than anything we found in Dwemer ruins. I helped to take one down and tried to fight the other. It was then that I was arrested.” Lydia explained, sounding rather much confused. Sariel nodding. “And what have you been doing these last few days?”

“Surviving. And learning. The first days I got by myself with only minimal thievery. Everything this land is different. Last night I found myself aided by the child’s sister, who took me in and gave me a bed and warm food, unlike anything in Tamriel I have seen. Today, arrested. The animunculi are something called the Brave Police. They have names, they can talk, there are many of them and that child, Yuuta is their leader.” Sariel hummed, seeing the look on Lydia’s face of pure surprise and confusion. “I feel the same. I’ve learned parts of their language but do not understand it well. It is hard.”

Lydia nodded at that. “And the dragon? There is no doubt it arrived here with us.”

“Most likely hiding to regenerate it’s strength. I have not heard nor seen a trace of it.” Sariel sighed. “If it appears, they will need us. They cannot defeat it alone.”

“You. They will need you, Sariel. I’m just backup, it’s not me who is the Dragonborn here.” Lydia hummed, seeing the slightly upset look Sariel had.

“You think that just because of that, you are less important than me? No, Lydia, you are a fearsome warrior and the closest thing I have had to a sister and a best friend. If it were not for you, I would most likely have been dead by now, or so alone I would not be able to cope.” Sariel frowned and it was clear from her voice, the way it broke, that she was telling how she felt. For a moment, Lydia felt bad for that. It hadn’t been her intention to upset Sariel.

“I’m sorry.” Lydia apologised, squeezing Sariel's fingers and using her thumb to rub the back of her hand. Despite the gauntlets they both wore, they knew of and could take comfort from little touches like that. “I’ve never asked about your family before, even if you have td me bits of your past. I suppose that because you survived by theft at a young age that you were not close with your parents?"

It was supposed to be a yes or no question and despite knowing that, Sariel felt Lydia deserved an explanation. “In Valenwood I was always treated as an outcast by the children my age and my own parents, as though they knew even without knowing that I was different to them. I never had any siblings. The children bullied me a lot, so I trained myself to fight back. The poor kids didn’t stand a chance. The elders ordered my parents to do something about me. My father would beat my mother a lot and so he turned to do the same to me. It took a year but I fought back, in the end, unable to stand it any more. Mother watched as I killed my own father. She promised not to report me as the killer but ordered me to leave right away and suggested that I should depart Valenwood altogether for my own safety. My father had a lot of enemies who would want to kill me for doing their job. So I left, started heading this way to Skyrim, having no money and needing to steal to survive. It got me by well enough until that night when the Empire arrested me along with Jarl Ulfric and the Stormcloak rebels.” Sariel explained. It wasn’t cheerful but there was no remorse in her voice. She didn’t regret what she had done.

Lydia nodded. “I was an orphan but I found a place as a guard when I grew older, because of my fighting skill. Jarl Balgruuf noticed this and appointed me into his court as Housecarl to his Thane, but he didn’t have one at the time. He was kind enough to let me live in Dragonsreach since I did not have a home of my own. I suppose he’s the closest thing to a father I had. Irileth trained with me.”

“Sounds nice enough.” Sariel hummed, stroking Lydia’s knuckles with one finger. A quiet ‘It was’ came by way of an answer. A guard interrupted further discussion, telling them that prisoners were not allowed to talk or hold hands.

They carried on doing both the moment he turned his back.

“I can see why you always do so much for Runa now. Always getting her gifts, giving her Sceolan - I can still remember Isran’s face when he was forced to give up one of the Dawnguard’s war dogs under the relentless face of a child who really wanted that dog.” The memory earned a small chuckle from both of them. “And teaching her to fight. Rayya says that if Runa gets much stronger, even she will be scared of her. Runa takes after her mother in sheer skill, that is for sure.”

Pride in her daughter was written across Sariel’s face. “I relate to Runa, at her age my situation wasn’t so different. I don’t want her to end up how I did though. I give her the love I’ve never felt and more to make up for the fact she has no father. But Runa insists that having Aunt Lydia is better than having a Pa.” This earned a laugh from Lydia. “She probably misses us by now. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had put on her armour, grabbed a sword and ordered Rayya to take her to us. Valdimar would just laugh most likely and offer her some mead, calling her a true warrior.”

“Valdimar isn’t wrong. If I hadn’t known you, I truly would have though she had inherited her fighting abilities from you. You are both very similar in that regard. Runa will carry on your work and do great good in her life, I do not doubt that. She’s had a great parent to look up to.” Lydia smiled.

Sariel looked away and Lydia couldn’t tell if it was embarrassment or something else. She already had her apologies lined up when Sariel looked back, a small, sad smile on her face. “You flatter me, Lydia.”

The Housecarl chuckled, shaking her head. “No more than you do to me, my Thane.” She simply replied, humming after a moment. “I suppose, great and wise Dragonborn who has broke out of prison before, you have a plan that involves getting us out of here and without any dragons coming to our accidental aid.”

“As entertaining as that would be, I do have a more boring plan than that.” Sariel hummed, letting go of Lydia’s hand in order to pull a lockpick from the side of her boot, giving it to Lydia. “There. You go first.”

Lydia stared for a long moment, seemingly confused and when she questioned that Sariel should go first, it became an order. Sometimes Lydia wished she hadn’t ended up with a Thane who was not so afraid to use her power to help her. It was supposed to be the other way around. Sighing, Lydia gave up arguing and instead set to picking the lock on her cell. It was a skill Lydia wished she hadn’t been born good at. The lock gave way quickly but it was accompanied by the pick breaking.

A loud roar caught their attention as one of the moving screens down the hall - A TV, Azuki had called it- Showed a breaking news report of the city under attack, by the dragon they had been fighting.

“Those idiots think they actually stand a chance without us.” Sariel grimaced, watching as every attack the military made had no effect. Or the Brave Police, who took every Thu’um to the face and came off worse for it.

“Nothing is ever simple, is it?” Lydia muttered, tossing the broken pick away. Sariel just sighed, humming while Lydia opened her cell and walked across the hall. “I’m sorry, my Thane. It was an accident.” She apologised, slipping right into submissive Housecarl mode.

“It’s fine, Lydia. There will be another way for me to get out, it’s just a matter of figuring it out.” Sariel drummed her fingers on the bars, thinking. Lydia was no pickpocket, there was no way they could bribe the guards.

“There’s only one option I can see, and it is the one that you hate.” Lydia hummed.

Sariel nodded, sighing. “There is no other way. Lure a guard to me, I will have to bend their will to make him mine. Perhaps they could be useful in getting through this place too.”

“As you wish, my Thane.” Lydia bowed before sneaking away, down the hall. The Housecarl was more than aware that Sariel hated using Shouts to bend the wills of minds, seeing it as disgraceful as what some of the dragons had stooped to in the past. And Miraak. Sariel hated everything she had been forced to learn in order to defeat Miraak and the fact she had been forced into the servitude of Hermaeus Mora. She always ignored that fact and followed her own will. She would never return to Apocrypha, no matter what the Daedric Prince said. Her soul belonged to Sovengarde, now she had crossed the Whalebone Bridge.

_ Good fucking luck to Hermaeus Mora finding another Dragonborn to serve him. _ Lydia snorted to herself. She had only seen the Daedric Prince twice but that was more than enough. Shaking her head to focus it, Lydia crouched before the door to the exit. She knew she made a good tool for luring, stealth had never been her strong point. But Sariel always had her back, even if they could not see each other. Deep breath in and Lydia cracked the door open, peeking around an empty office.

There were tables and chairs around the room, their weapons in evidence bags to one side and a security desk set to one wall. It looked to have been recently vacated, except for one poor soul. A young man, barely into adulthood who jumped from his seat, looking around wildly. He spotted the open door and Lydia backed up to it, the policeman following, stumbling forward in his fear.

“D-don’t move!” The man called, his hands shaking as he reached for his gun, reaching the door. Lydia had backed away down the hall, to the cells, slipping into hers. The policeman walked down the hall, his footsteps echoing in the silence, silence that was broken when he reached Sariel’s cell.

“Gol Hah.” The Dragonborn breathed, the Thu’um directed at the policeman. He didn’t need all three words of the Shout. She doubted he even needed two, with the ease at which he have his mind over to her. Sariel didn’t bother talking to him in Japanese. His mind was hers now, he would obey no matter what language she used. “You will open this cell.” She ordered, standing back as the hazy eyed policeman, having no control of his mind or body, stumbled forward and used his key to open it with only minimal fumbling. “Now, you will fetch our weapons for us. After that, you will clean your records of our existence and deny you ever saw us.” Sariel watched as the policeman went stumbling down the hall, putting his gun away. She really, really hated having to do this.

A few minutes later he returned, arms full of their swords, greatswords, bows and shield. They took the weapons, putting them on their backs and belts before following the policeman to the exit door. He went to one side, to a computer terminal. Sariel and Lydia both broke into a run, making their way towards the exit.

Only for the exit to be covered by shutters and alarms to start going off. They were busted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 3,768 words long, I hope you are proud of me.


	4. Burning Heart to Heart

Yuuta couldn’t deny he was impressed as they drove toward the dragon, the rather large creature perched on the side of a glass fronted building. The glass was cracked under it’s claws. The sunlight shone from the dragon’s black and purple scales as well as the large, curved horns on it’s head. It looked every bit as fearsome and majestic as Yuuta thought a dragon could look, especially when it took flight off the building and landed on the ground before the Brave Police. Gunmax opened fire right away, accompanied by one of his cheesy English lines.

The bullet bounced harmlessly off of the dragon’s scales. The beast seemed more irritated by it than anything and it swiftly grabbed Gunmax in it’s jaw, tossing the Motorcycle Detective into his bike and then breathing fire at them with a roar of ‘YOL TOOR SHUL!’. It was hot enough that it melted parts of the Gunbike and Gunmax’s armour, and they carried on being on fire for a few seconds after the attack had stopped.

The Brave Police unanimously decided it was best if Yuuta waited further back, out of harm’s way. Yuuta jumped out of Deckerd, running to what looked like the nearest safe spot while still being close enough to issue the unification command. Dragons were polite enough to wait for them to finish, it seemed, as the great beast just sniffed and watched as the small robots merged into bigger robots. No matter to him. One Brave was out of the fight already, and they were more than aware they were at a disadvantage.

Nonetheless, they fought vigorously, pouring every shot that J-Decker, Duke Fire and Super Build Tiger had into fighting the dragon, aided by the defence force troops that arrived not long after, their tanks and cannons firing away, planes dropping bombs at every chance.

It didn’t seem to have much effect.

* * *

 

Sariel and Lydia stood back to back in the dark room, their weapons raised as they listened over the sounds of the alarm for the slightest hint of movement. The shadows shifted and shurikens flew towards them, landing harmlessly on Lydia's shield. "Show yourself, coward!" The Housecarl yelled, itching to fight.

They heard a laugh and a smooth voice spoke to them. "Now now. Where do you think you're going? You're under arrest. Go back to your cells." Shadowmaru answered, diving to the side as an arrow flew to where he had been moments before. "Violence does not solve every problem."

"We don't have time for games. Your Brave Police are going to get themselves destroyed out there without us!" Sariel called, her voice laced with frustration. Raising her hand, she cast a ball of light to stick on one of the walls, illuminating a small area. It revealed nothing.

"Whatever it is, I have every faith that dan'na and Chibi-Boss can handle it." Shadowmaru replied, his voice ever calm. Something he noted irritated the pair even more.

"You're one of them then? Care to introduce yourself? I suppose your records show who we are." Sariel tilted her head. Under her breath she whispered the words to Aura Whisper but nothing was revealed to her.  _ Damn it. Must be because they are machines. _ She bit back the frustrated sound she wanted to make, deflecting two more shurikens with her sword. Again, an arrow struck only air.

"Of course, Sariel and Lydia. I am the Brave Police undercover and espionage unit, Shadowmaru." He introduced himself, although he didn't move from his place in the shadows. "And how about we put those dangerous weapons away, hmm?" He was rewarded with Sariel doing so and Lydia moving into a more relaxed position.  _ No way it would be that easy. _

"Stay here. Keep his attention on you." Sariel murmured, seeing Lydia nod. The Dragonborn then slipped away into the shadows. Two could play at the stealth game, after all, and she was not a Nightingale of Nocturnal for no reason.

Shadowmaru wouldn't deny that was impressive. His scanners couldn't even track Sariel and all he got was faint shifting in the corners of his eyes, the shadows forming and changing. He supposed this was how it felt when others were being followed by him, never knowing where was, paranoid of attack at any second. Lydia was waiting for something, that was what gave him his only hint that there was a definite plan to this. They weren't expecting him to attack again.

He wasn't expecting the dagger that sank into his shoulder, rending through the plating with ease and leaving his right arm useless and bleeding. The Ninja Detective was roughly booted into the light seconds later, Sariel leaning over him, oil dripping from the dagger in her hand. "I am a Nightingale, servant of Nocturnal, Daedric Prince of Night and Darkness. I walk with the Shadows."

"Any other day I might have asked for lessons." Shadowmaru commented dryly. He was a little bit sour about his defeat. Just a little bit. He also didn't understand what princes had to do with stealth but Yuuta had given the impression that these two could be a little... Strange at times. That one Shadowmaru had definitely witnessed firsthand. "I suppose you'll have something to demand of me too and- Ack!" Shadowmaru yelped as he was grabbed by the collar and roughly pulled up from the floor by Lydia. Shit, this woman was strong.

"Disable the security. That or we can break our way through it. Take your pick." Sariel ordered, and with the tip of Lydia's blade rather worryingly close to Shadowmaru's throat, he obliged, shutting down the security alarms and allowing them too pass unhindered. Lydia knocked him out with the butt of her sword, smashing him straight on the back of the head.

They weren't going to risk Shadowmaru reversing that decision.

* * *

 

Yuuta sat in the front seat of Seia's jeep, the both of them able to do nothing but watch as the dragon grounded planes from the sky, smashing them out of the air with it's tail, using Shouts to send them into buildings. The tanks were knocked away with swipes of it's wings, sent skittering across the floor as though they were simply toys. Yuuta supposed that when you were a dragon, most things were like toys. A part of him still couldn't believe that anyone fought and killed these things.

Duke Fire's sword seemed to be their most effective weapon. Blades, it turned out, could slice through the scales while projectiles bounced harmlessly off. Some shrapnel from the tank rounds and missiles were also lodged in the dragon's skin. Duke Fire lead the attack for this reason, trying his best to dodge the roars of fire and ice sent at him. The fact that a dragon could use ice as a weapon surprised them. They never did in story books.

But it was also rather effective, since the crystals of ice lodged in their joints and the cold slowed them. But that wasn't enough to make them give up. Yuuta could feel the itch in his hands, the want and the desire to fight with them but he stayed put, settling for helping Seia aim the cannon on their jeep while her second in command kept them at a safe distance from the dragon's attacks, and the showers of glass and debris freely falling on the buildings being smashed up.

They hadn't had time to evacuate the area properly. Yuuta wondered how many casualties they would have to dig out from the rubble after this. He also found himself wondering if this was a regular occurrence in Skyrim. It must be, if there was someone who was born purely to fight them - Did being Dragonborn mean that one of Sariel's parents were a dragon? No, surely not. He supposed that if they survived this, he would have to ask. The curiosity was too great. Maybe he was Dragonborn too? There had to be a way to find out, right?

Yuuta didn't know what it was though. He eliminated simply going up and asking the dragon from the options right away.

"YUUTA!" Yuuta startled at the yell. He was becoming distracted. It had been a while since Yuuta had become distracted that easily, lost in his thoughts so. Most of the time he did it because he was questioning his orders or their actions, whether or not it was the right thing. His head snapped up and Yuuta knew what was being asked right away from the look J-Decker was giving him. He'd learned to read a blank faceplate pretty quickly, a skill few shared.

J-Decker and Duke Fire because Fire J-Decker, combining their strength and making the Fire Sword into a truly flaming sword. Yuuta had always been curious as to how that was possible but he learned not to question it, helping Seia load another round into their gun while Fire J-Decker started attacking the dragon, hacking and slashing at it with the burning sword. The dragon didn't seem to like that one bit. For a moment he wondered if the dragon's roars were words, whether they meant anything. Pain, he would guess from the tone of them, and he was probably better off now knowing. He'd had to fight living creatures for simply existing before. Once they had been able to make peace. This time, there was no chance of that, not by this point.

Yuuta cried and jumped back, nearly falling from the jeep as the dragon's tail smashed Super Build Tiger into the building next to them, causing a shower of powder, glass and more to come falling down. Seia had grabbed his top to stop him from falling. The glass shards cut into his skin. Yuuta stared at the prone form of Super Build Tiger, too injured to keep fighting. The Build Team had endured a lot of punishment, taking most of the attacks to the face. He forgave them for not being able to fight anymore, they had lasted better than he would have in their position and Yuuta knew it. 

The dragon charged forward, aiming to butt Fire J-Decker to the side with his head but they dodged the attack, sinking the Fire Sword deep into the dragon's chest. With a roar, the beast finally slumped down, becoming still. There were bleeding slash marks, charred and not from the sword and shrapnel in the dragon's otherwise smooth scales. "Is it... Is it finally dead?" Yuuta asked, rising from his place and jumping from the jeep, running towards where Fire J-Decker was stood. It looked dead enough, eyes empty and body stiff on the floor in a rather graceless position. Fire J-Decker didn't answer. It had to be.

* * *

Sariel and Lydia had wasted little time getting out of the building, but they needed a way to get across the city and quickly. "Can you even control one of these things?" Lydia questioned, arms crossed as she watched Sariel quite literally rip the door off of one of the police cars, flashing lights and loud beeping noises starting to issue from it. Well, that would definitely get them noticed.

"Only one way to find out. Just get in." Sariel shrugged, and while questioning her mental sanity, Lydia climbed into the passenger seat. Sariel looked around, pressing on the pedals as she tried to figure out how to make the thing move. The keyhole on the side of the steering column soon caught her attention and she could have made a frustrated sound, it needed a fucking key. She ripped that out too, finding it to be connected to a series of wires.

They didn't have electricity in Nirn. Putting the ends of two wires together created a spark and lights flashed across the car. Sariel had no clue what they meant but fusing the wires together with the Sparks spell was enough to make the car start. The first pedal she slammed her foot on made the car start moving, rather rapidly and accompanied by the sounds of tyres screeching, most of the rubber being left on the ground as the Dragonborn tried her best to steer the car out of there and down the road. Fortunately for all of their sake the other drivers on the road kept out of their way, especially since Sariel had no clue how to slow down or what would happen, if she took her foot off the pedal. It stayed firmly on their, the car soon hitting it's limits and making extremely unhappy sounds as it was forced to redline it's way across the city, past guards who yelled after them and soldiers who looked on in bewilderment.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO STOP THIS THING?!" Lydia yelled as they approached the battle ground.

"NOT A CLUE! JUST JUMP, NOW!" Sariel answered back, the pair leaping out of the missing sides of the vehicle. The sound of tyres screaming catching the attention of Yuuta, Seia and Fire J-Decker right away and they watched as a driverless police car came dashing past them, crashing straight into the dragon. It had only been a few minutes since the creature was downed but they looked on in shock as the dragon shook it's head and got up, the wounds seemingly healed and it's anger renewed. Fire J-Decker was smashed to the side, downed, as the dragon looked around, snarling.

"DOVAHKIIN!" The dragon yelled, it's rage evident as it looked around, the sound of running footsteps echoing around them. The dragon couldn't see Lydia or Sariel, and the fact that a bullet hit the side of it's head distracted the dragon, who stared down the inhabitants of the jeep. The Lieutenant and Seia jumped out, running to safety. Yuuta was frozen with fear, unable to follow, realising too late that he was done for. He could only raise his arms weakly as though trying to shield himself when the dragon Shouted fire at him.

It was warm, but the death he was expecting didn't come. Yuuta opened his eyes, not realising he had even closed them, to notice that it was being deflected around them. His arms lowered as he realised he was staring at Lydia and Sariel's backs, the former tossing her now burnt and useless shield away when the fire stopped, their weapons drawn, ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a mechanic. I am also bad at writing fight scenes. I'm sorry.


	5. Dovahkiin

“Dovahkiin, so finally you have decided to show yourself. I wondered just how long you would make me wait, but it is no matter. Unlike you, I am not bound by mortality, I could have waited as long as needed.” The dragon greeted, sounding rather much amused.

“You’ll have to forgive me but I don’t think we ever had a proper introduction. I never caught your name. Care to enlighten me?” Sariel greeted back, quirking an eyebrow. Their conversation was in the language of dragons, and she was more than aware of the confused looks both Yuuta and Lydia were giving her.

“Very well. I am Faazausdinok. You better remember it, for I will succeed where even Alduin failed, in slaying you!” The dragon snarled, watching as Sariel seemed to consider that for a moment, an expression on her face of amusement and maybe slightly impressed. It was hard to tell, although the small shrug afterwards gave it away as amusement.

“OK. You sound pretty serious about that.” She couldn’t take him seriously. She’d come across dragons that had chosen their names themselves before and she still wasn’t entirely sure if that was the norm or how dragons were even named but, well, calling yourself ‘Pain Suffering Death’ was like someone naming themself Bigus Dickus but in overcompensating ‘I am a dragon of death and destruction’ form. And she had a tendency to tease dragons a bit more than was perhaps wise. She would have done so, but apparently her tone alone was more than Faazausdinok could stand.

The dragon didn’t even wait for her to take a breath before Shouting again. Sariel grabbed Yuuta and dodged the fire breath, diving to the side while Lydia took it bravely to the face, distracting Faazausdinok while Sariel got Yuuta safely around the corner. The child couldn’t stand to not watch though as he didn’t stay put long, inching forward to watch Sariel charging towards the dragon, yelling “JOOR ZAH FRUL!” Whatever that meant, it was enough to momentarily stun the dragon.

That was the sixth time that Faazausdinok had faced the Dragonrend shout but it was still enough to shock the powerful, immortal dragon, to suddenly be faced with and experience the feeling of being weak and mortal, able to be struck down at any second. It was something that a dragon like Faazausdinok would never not be shocked by, and Sariel planned to take full advantage of. The sword slashed into his skin, cutting cleanly through the dragon’s scales, dragging an enraged roar. Lydia slashed away at the dragon’s side with her Ebony sword, rending cuts in the wing. The dragon batted her with the wing, knocking her away and to the side. Momentarily winded, Lydia got back on her feet and resumed her attack.

The Housecarl was dedicated if anything. She took every blow thrown at her to protect her Thane, the Last Dragonborn but most importantly her friend. Sariel didn’t need protecting, they both knew that. But it was mutual. Sariel made sure that Lydia was well armed and protected, and helped her recover when she was hurt. And so for Sariel, Lydia would fight every dragon in Skyrim and beyond, no matter what. Facing death and worse together forged the strongest of friendships, when you could trust in each other completely and could talk without talking.

Their fighting was more of an intricate dance when they worked together. Lydia knew that when the dragon went to use the Thu’um on her again, Sariel would stun it out of the shout with Dragonrend, or use Unrelenting Force to push it off balance. And thanks to hidden knowledge from Hermaeus Mora, Sariel’s Shouts would not hurt Lydia. Of course, even with the promise of strength and personal protection, the Dragonborn would choose to stop herself from hurting her friend by accident. And so Lydia was not afraid to jump in front of Sariel when she used Frost Breath, crystals of ice forming on the dragon’s scales. They both struck the frozen scales, making them crack and shatter and forcibly peel the scales from the dragon’s body, a pain which ripped an agonised cry from Faazausdinok.

Realising the strength the dragon was facing with the pair fighting together, Faazausdinok decided to get rid of Lydia right away. Roaring, the dragon grabbed Lydia in it’s mouth, tossing her away, to land on the ground near Fire J-Decker. It stunned her, and she slumped on the ground, fighting consciousness. Faazausdinok turned to Lydia, about to finish her off when Sariel snapped. She was not going to let this bastard of a dragon take her friend from her. The flash of her greatsword as she viciously slashed it into the dragon’s side, getting it’s full attention on her, using that to lure the dragon away from Lydia. It was rare that the Dragonborn lost her temper and snapped like that, but when she did, she became as vicious and aggressive as the dragons she so proudly fought against.

“MUL QAH DIIV!”

Sariel was enveloped by a set of ethereal armour, resembling a dragon in appearance and her Thu’um became stronger as she understood the power of the dragon and became one with it. The Dragon Aspect shout.

“So you have the ability to take on the aspects of a dragon. But you’ll never truly have the power of one.” Sariel supposed that the sound Faazausdinok made was supposed to be a laugh, but it sounded like an ugly snorting sound. Whatever it was, it made Sariel angry and that showed. Her Fire Breath burned hotter, her sword swung with more strength, every shout contained raw power that would make Sariel question herself later but for now, it served her well.

Lydia watched as her Thane fought viciously, to protect her. It was humbling but it also forced Lydia onto her feet, not wanting to be idle, wanting to help fight, not to be useless. It was partially to convince herself that she was valuable but also because her duty and friendship bound her to. And because Lydia knew that Sariel valued her help more than the power given by any Shout. She staggered, leaning on her sword for a moment while taking a deep breath. Lydia became vaguely aware of the child running towards her, yelling, and she wasn’t sure if it was at her or the animunculi. It was confirmed to be her when the kid grabbed her, talking in the language that she didn’t understand. His tone was one of worry, she noted that much and just smiled. Yuuta was left speechless by that and Lydia readied her sword, rolling her shoulders - That hurt an exceptional amount - and charging forward with a furious battle cry, hacking and slashing at every part of the dragon that her blade could reach.

At the very least the ferocious attack stunned the dragon. Unable to do anything else, it turned to attack Lydia, snapping at her and trying to force her away. Faazausdinok then made the mistake of trying to Shout at Lydia.

In the time that the dragon was still, Sariel jumped onto it’s head. The moment the dragon noticed this it started shaking it’s head, swinging from side to side to try and push her off balance. Sariel clung on determinedly, waiting for the moment Lydia would sink her sword as deep into the dragon’s exposed underbelly as possible. She didn’t have to wait long, readying her greatsword and plunging it into the dragon’s skull without hesitation when it roared. She pulled it back out quickly enough and leaped onto the ground, the dragon thrashing in it’s death throes.

The ethereal armour faded away along with the other effects of Dragon Aspect and Sariel sheathed her sword onto her back, turning to face the now dead dragon. It’s scales started burning off and seconds later, Sariel had taken the life essence and knowledge of the dragon, absorbing it’s soul and leaving behind only the bare skeleton.

Yuuta could feel his jaw fall as he watched the amazing sight, barely believing his eyes.

Sariel had learned with practice to keep a stoic face but even now it was still a jarring experience, to suddenly see a dragon’s memories, the things they had done through their eyes and to know how they felt and gain their understanding of the world. More often than not, she witnessed horrific atrocities committed during the Dragon Wars combined with a deep sense of satisfaction and joy. This time was no different.

Lydia could read through the stoic face by now. She took hold of Sariel’s hand squeezing the fingers lightly. Sariel could feel it even through the clawed gauntlet and she gave Lydia a small smile, squeezing her fingers back. Lydia nodded, understanding.

Their moment was soon interrupted by Yuuta, who came over, face full of awe and excitement and child’s amazement. “I can’t believe you managed to beat the dragon! How did you do it? Where did you learn to shout like that? I had no idea you had that much power, that’s amazing!” Sariel had to bite back a laugh and she couldn’t resist when Yuuta turned to Lydia, the Housecarl looking extremely confused and taken aback. “And you, where did you learn to be so strong? How did you managed to get up like that even when the dragon knocked you down? You’re both so strong.” Yuuta looked between them.

The childish amazement abated a little when he saw flashing sirens coming down the road, a police car carrying Saejima and the support truck for the Brave Police driven by Toudou. “Is the dragon really dead?” Yuuta asked, his voice quiet and serious now. Sariel nodded once, firm. “How can you be sure?”

“I absorbed it’s soul. It’s gone now, forever.” Yuuta seemed to consider that for a long minute. Sariel knew the next question that was coming, holding up her hand when Yuuta went to speak again. “That is the power of being Dragonborn. The natural ability to absorb a dragon’s soul and understand everything it understands. That is what you just witnessed.” Yuuta seemed impressed but then the sound of doors slamming and guns cocking surrounded them. Other policemen had caught up and now they were all in defensive positions, guns drawn and pointing at both Lydia and Sariel. The Housecarl’s hand strayed to the hilt of her blade but she didn’t draw it just yet.

Sariel turned to face Saejima, staring him down. They both recognised a sizeable power in the other, something that neither of them wished to test but would have to, if they must. “Order your men to stand down. We do not want to fight you.” She called out, watching the change in expression on Saejima’s face. He was thinking about it. His men were also thinking about it.

One of them thought about it enough to decide that it was a trap, and so the obvious answer was to get the first strike. He shot Sariel in the arm, just below her shoulder guard. The Dragonborn made a half pained, half angry grunting sound as she turned to face the offender. “ZUN HAAL VIIK!” She yelled, and watched as the officer’s jaw fell while his gun was torn from his hand, flying off somewhere far behind and to the side of him, leaving him unable to do anything but stare with wide eyes between his hand and her.

Saejima’s collar suddenly felt rather tight but he kept his face and tone even, clearing his throat. “What if we don’t stand down? You’re outnumbered and most likely out matched, as well as affected by your last battle.” He questioned, already fearing the answer as he gestured to the dragon’s skeleton.

“We’ll kill you if we have to.” Sariel answered, keeping emotion out of her voice. “We don’t want to, but if given no choice, we will. We are warriors, dying in combat is our highest honour.” That she let a small measure of pride seep in to. Intimidation wasn’t her plan, she was willing to compromise if need be. But she was serious about her words, something that she had rarely been in her life. Saejima gestured for his men to lower their weapons.

“You are still considered criminals and have broken out of jail, despite saving our lives and the city from destruction. I recognise that your earlier assaults against the Brave Police have been a misunderstanding.” Saejima reminded them, but they didn’t need it. “But you’ll have to be taken into custody until the council decides what to do with you.”

“We’re willing to pay off our bounty however you see fit, sir. However, we can’t just stand by and be idle when we know that we can help save innocent lives. I’m sure that you can understand that feeling.” Sariel smiled slightly, seeing Saejima’s face relax and turn thoughtful, his hand moving to his chin and arm crossing.

“I know it, yes. Very well, then you shall pay for your crimes-” Saejima seemed definitely pleased by his decision, a grin on his face while he pointed to Yuuta between Lydia and Sariel. “-By assisting the Brave Police in their work!” THAT had definitely been unexpected and Sariel looked between Saejima and Yuuta, the child’s face beginning to light up. Lydia just looked plain confused, barely able to keep track of what was going on.

“We’re working with the animunculi.” Sariel explained to Lydia, who nodded, although there was a small frown on her face. “Cheer up Lydia, it can’t be as bad as being stuck in Cidhna Mine being worked to your very bones.”

“Dare I ask how you ended up in Cidhna Mine, or is there a story to that I’m better off not knowing?” Lydia raised an eyebrow, intrigued but also somewhat worried. She’d always wondered what Sariel got up to when she was dismissed but if it was being sent to prison, she was half scared to know.

“There is a story. It’s nothing bad though, I’ll explain to you properly later but I was framed for murder and had to hunt down a Forsworn King within the Mine.” Sariel shrugged, not at all surprised by the defeated sigh from Lydia.

“You really don’t do things by halves. Getting thrown in prison and hunting down kings, for the love of Talos, half your adventures must be absolutely crazy to whoever wasn’t there to witness it.” Sariel couldn’t help but laugh, knowing that it was ABSOLUTELY true. She herself couldn’t believe some of the adventures and messes her and Lydia had gotten themselves into.

Yuuta puffed out his chest, unable to contain his glee anymore and trying to sound authoritative. “I’m your new boss!” He grinned, something that earned a look between Lydia and Sariel. That was definitely one of the most unexpected things they had come across.

“Pleased to meet you, Boss. Just don’t make us have to go saving your life like that again.” Sariel greeted with a wry tone that Yuuta didn’t notice in his excitement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard for me to write. I am bad at fight scenes.


	6. New Recruits

Lydia shifted slightly, getting more comfortable where she was. On a rather large bed in a guest room with her head resting on Sariel’s chestplate, half laid on the Dragonborn between her legs, basking in the warmth of Sariel’s healing spell. Her free hand was wrapped around Lydia’s middle, clutching onto one of the Housecarl’s hands. Lydia found herself musing, not for the first time, on just how damn cuddly the Dragonborn was. It wasn’t often they got moments long enough to be like this but when they did, Sariel took full advantage of it. Lydia wasn’t complaining. Sariel was surprisingly comfortable even with armour on and the spell was chasing away every last ache and throb in her body and she was torn between just enjoying it and telling Sariel that she really needed it more right then. Sariel had insisted on healing Lydia first, ignoring her own needs with only the compromise that she would drink a potion.

Sariel was just too damn selfless sometimes. It was one of their longest running disagreements. In fact it was their longest running disagreement, right from the day they had met each other. Sariel had always prioritised Lydia’s wellbeing over her own, something that conflicted with their positions. It still did, but Lydia had since given up using that upon the realisation Sariel didn’t much care for ranks.

Lydia cracked her eyes open when she felt lips on her cheek, turning her head and almost brushing noses with Sariel. “What are you thinking about?” She murmured, nuzzling her head against Lydia’s, an action that was only possible because Lydia had left her helmet on the dresser.

“I’m thinking that you should worry about yourself for a minute. You and I both know that I’m more than alright now while you are not.” Lydia answered quietly. She could tell there was a smile on Sariel’s lips even as she tried not to be disappointed when the spell’s warmth went away.

“That’s not all that you’re thinking about, I know it. Don’t try to tell me otherwise.” Sariel hummed, her voice noticeably more soothed now that she was focusing her healing on herself.

“I’m starting to wonder if mind reading is one of your mysterious dragon powers that you’re not telling me about. How do you know these things?” Lydia snorted, hearing Sariel laugh softly at that. “But fine, I was also thinking about how the great and mighty Dovahkiin can swap so quickly from terrifying warrior to cuddly child. Seriously, I don’t think there’s ever been a Dragonborn as cuddly as you are.”

“No, mind reading is not one of my mysterious dragon powers, I can assure you that. If it was, I wouldn’t have gotten dragged into half as much trouble as I have been. You’re a Sister to me, Lydia, I know you well enough by now to judge such things.” Sariel explained, a lot of amusement and fondness colouring her voice. “As for if any other Dragonborns have been as cuddly as I am, well, I can’t answer that one. Miraak definitely wasn’t. Talos might have been but I never asked. Any others I’ll admit to not knowing of, the history of Skyrim was never a primary subject in Valenwood.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to take any of that seriously.” Lydia commented after a moment of silence, burying her face into the side of Sariel’s neck. “You make it sound like you’ve spoken to Talos before.” She noted, knowing that such a thing was most likely impossible. Although, to be fair, Sariel had a deeper connection to the Warrior God Talos than most of his followers, with them both being Dragonborn.

“I saw him in a dream once when I was about 10 years old, I didn’t know who he was then. Must have been one of those dreams of fate, I guess. That’s about it.” Sariel shrugged. “Gods are a little busy to be making conversation with mortals, I think.” Lydia couldn’t argue with that logic. Religion and the worship of the Nine Divines had never really had much to do with them anyway.

“Really? You didn’t even see Akatosh when you defeated Alduin in Sovengarde?” Lydia raised an eyebrow, chuckling quietly when Sariel snorted.

“At this point I’m pretty sure Akatosh just sent Alduin to his room with no dinner.” Sariel mused dryly. “No, I didn’t see him. Didn’t even get a thank you for helping to bring his unruly son back into line.”

“Even the World Eater cannot escape a parent’s rage.” Lydia hummed, a small grin on her lips. “I think being Dragonborn was supposed to be your thank you gift for helping to bring his unruly son back into line.”

Sariel didn’t argue that one. She knew well enough that her dragon blood was a blessing from Akatosh himself to a mortal he favoured, and therefore she was fated to defeat Alduin. Sometimes though, she wondered just why Akatosh had favoured her before she was even born. “At this point I begin to wonder if being Dragonborn is a gift or a curse.” Sariel commented quietly, lowering her hand to gently comb her fingers through Lydia’s hair.

Lydia made a happy sound at the touch, tilting her head so that Sariel could comb the hair easier. “I don’t think any gift that powerful comes without a flaw somewhere in the contract. Nothing is perfect.” She mused. Sariel made an acknowledging sound. She couldn’t deny that either.

“You’re thinking about something seriously.” Lydia pointed out after a minute. There was very few things that Sariel took seriously in her life, and Lydia could count them all on one hand. She supposed that trying to be lighthearted was a sort of coping mechanism for everything that Sariel had to endure, willingly or not. Lydia was pretty sure that in Sariel’s boots, she would be the same too.

“Miraak.” Sariel answered after a moment. She could remember the fight very clearly.  _ And so the Last Dragonborn faces the First Dragonborn at the summit of Apocrypha.  _ She’d taken Miraak seriously, mostly due to the fact that she hated him with a burning passion the moment she saw him. He’d spat in the faces of the gods and used his powers for evil. Perhaps he had destroyed half a dragon cult but he had also refused his destiny and fully deserved to be slain by her hand. But at the same time, it made her wonder. Worry. Akatosh had favoured Miraak at some point and blessed him with his Dragonborn powers, but he became hungry for more and served to further his own strength, ending up under the tentacle of Hermaeus Mora and his forbidden knowledge. She hated Hermaeus Mora too. But what would happen if she was to go mad and become power hungry as well? She hated that possibility even more. “What if I were to end up like him?”

Lydia was quiet for a long moment. “You don’t remember what happened after you first returned to Mundus from your fight with Miraak, do you?” Sariel shook her head. “You were completely out of your mind, collapsed on the ashen ground of Solstheim. Whatever happened in your fight, it clearly took a lot out of you and I worried that Miraak or Hermaeus Mora had done something to you. I don’t think either of them was the case now. You grabbed me by the collar and dragged me to my knees, making me promise right there and then in front of Captain Veleth and half of Raven Rock, that if you were to go mad and become like Miraak that I was to slit your throat and kill you. When I agreed, you then passed out and was unconscious for a day and a half. I carried your body to Councillor Morvayn’s manor, where he let us stay.”

“Then I must have had some of my wits about me still.” Sariel mused dryly. “Would you do that, if it came to it?” She asked quietly, as if afraid to speak of the possibility.

“As much as the thought of having to do that pains me, it would pain me more to see you mad. I am sworn to protect you, as both your Housecarl and your friend, and I realise if that were to happen, killing you would be the best way to protect you.” Lydia sighed, an unusual weight in her voice even as she shifted to watch the way Sariel’s face changed. She was sad, that was for sure, and somewhat determined. “But if I’m honest, I think that you are too much of a stubborn, selfless mule to let that happen.” That earned a half happy laugh from Sariel at least.

“If I am to be killed, then I would be honoured to die by your blade, Lydia. You are a true friend.” Sariel smiled, bringing Lydia’s hand to her lips so that she could kiss the back of it, feeling Lydia squeeze her fingers gently in return, as well as the press of lips on her own cheek.

“No more than you are, Sariel.” Lydia smiled, before sitting up and moving, effectively reversing their positions and dragging Sariel into her lap. The Dragonborn didn’t complain, more than happy to settle down cuddled against Lydia. “We should get some rest. We’ll most likely have a relatively busy day tomorrow with our formal induction into the Brave Police, whatever that might entail.”

Sariel made a sound of agreement. “Indeed. I really should teach you some of their language. At least enough for you to be able to understand.” She laughed at the muttered ‘oh gods no’ that earned from Lydia. “What makes you say that? You picked up on Dovahzul fast enough to be able to insult Alduin on the Throat of the World.”

“Yeah, well, someone had to tell him what a complete and utter bastard he was, so I took the mantle upon myself. And believe me, he was VERY offended by it, he tried twice as hard to completely flatten me.” Lydia snorted. Sariel laughed again. “Besides, I don’t really know that much of the dragon language anyway.”

“You say that, but you have learned relatively quickly. I think that if you were to focus yourself more, you would be able to Shout as well.” Sariel mused, hearing the rather disbelieving sound Lydia made at that.

“No thank you. I do not have the time or patience to spend years meditating about words on top of a mountain. I don’t know how Jarl Ulfric, or anyone else for that matter, managed it.” Lydia shook her head, displeased at just the thought of that. Ten years meditating on a mountain was not her idea of a good way to pass time.

“To be honest, you are more like me, you would learn more by trial and failure rather than by meditation.” Sariel hummed.

“Easy for you to say. I thought you learned from the knowledge of the dragon you killed anyway.” Lydia frowned, an eyebrow raising.

“I do. But you didn’t see me when I first learned to Shout. Let’s just say it’s not as straightforward as one would assume, even for me. That’s why you can occasionally catch me meditating, as much as I hate it it is sometimes necessary.” Sariel chuckled. “Anyway, that’s something we can discuss another time. For now, we rest. It grows late and for once we don’t have to sleep with one eye open.” Lydia agreed with that.

* * *

 

They were awake before the sun had even risen in the morning. They had an unhealthy habit of sleeping as little as possible and Sariel had suffered pretty badly from nightmares that night. Even the strongest of warriors was not immune to them, even if they would not admit it. Lydia occasionally suffered them too but she was grateful hers were never as bad as committing horrible atrocities with glee and making those she cared about suffer for her own amusement.

Sariel hoped that Paarthurnax would have some wisdom on how to help cope with them when they returned back to Tamriel. Most likely more meditation. She wondered briefly if dragons could suffer nightmares as well. Lydia always told her that she herself was a dragon’s worst nightmare.

They went through their usual routine of maintaining their weapons and armour, taking their time to sharpen and clean them. Lydia mourned the loss of her shield, although the promise of Sariel crafting a new one for her alleviated that slightly. Sariel gave Lydia some brief lessons on Japanese, at least as much as she knew. Whatever Lydia said, she was a surprisingly apt language learner.

By the time they had finished, the sun had just risen and they could enjoy a meager breakfast of bread and butter at the inn they were staying. Sariel felt obliged to leave a tip of ten septims on the counter, despite Saejima telling them that the police would pay for their temporary accommodation. They still hadn’t figured out where they would stay in the long term, until they found a way home. Yuuta and Deckerd picked them up when it was time. He tried to explain to them what their induction would entail - Being introduced, interviews with reporters and the news crews, photos and more - but all of it just managed to go over their heads and raise more questions that eventually had Yuuta giving up and saying ‘just improvise’.

That they could both do rather well. Battling was improvisation in it’s own right, and this was another kind of battle, just with words rather than weapons. But before any of that they were introduced to the rest of the Brave Police by Yuuta and Deckerd. Shadowmaru was still nursing a sore spot for losing their stealth battle. The others respected both well enough, for both saving their Boss and managing to do that they couldn’t. And giving Shadowmaru a sore spot - Drill Boy swore he would never let the Ninja Detective forget it.

Sariel could see herself getting along with Drill Boy rather well. She didn’t plan on letting shadowmaru forget his defeat either. They were given papers to sign, things about insurance, that they were voluntarily risking their lives and emergency contact information (A blank page for the both of them). Paperwork that they didn’t really care for, but the Vice Commissioner did, as well as having a rather strong disliking for the Tamrielic warriors. They filled out their forms under his stern instructions and they did so seriously. Azuma still wasn’t happy when he received them back. Lydia could not read or write their language and out of spite, Sariel filled hers in using Dovah.

Their standing with Azuma lowered, but the Brave Police found it for the most part amusing to see the Vice Commissioner taken down a notch.

The interview went about as well as could be imagined. Saejima did most of the talking and it didn’t take long for the onslaught of unfamiliar words to become white noise to them, blending into one headache inducing drone. The flashing camera lights did no favours for that either. “I never did enjoy formal events.” Lydia muttered under her breath, earning a quiet laugh from Sariel.

“That Thalmor dinner party was the first and only one I went to, and it was suffering. Not just because it was hosted by a Thalmor agent who wants my head either.” Sariel mused, remembering just how fun it was - The fun part had been stealing from them and killing her way through a small battalion of Thalmor guards and Justicars. “Even Jarl Balgruuf hated it. We were both more than grateful for Razelan’s distraction and hideous embarrassment of Elenwen.”

“You never mentioned Jarl Balgruuf was there. How did he react to your presence?” Lydia tilted her head slightly, intrigued.

“I didn’t? Must have skipped that detail. He promised not to reveal my identity and if asked deny ever meeting me before the party. He was also immeasurably grateful for me gatecrashing it.” Sariel hummed.

“I would be too, if I was him.” Lydia agreed, falling quiet afterwards.

The end of the formalities couldn’t come soon enough. By the end of it they were both considering whether it would be a good idea or not to summon Sanguine to provide some entertainment, if such a thing was possible. Sariel still couldn’t quite understand how she became best drinking buddies with the Daedric Prince of Debauchery but she enjoyed the rare breaks she had when Sanguine visited. He recognised at least that she wasn’t much of a drinker and so didn’t often propose nights out to pass the time.

The much needed break came before they could decide if it was even possible to summon the Daedra there, which was probably for the best in the end. Once the reporters and people had finally cleared out of the Decker Room Yuuta looked just about as done as they’d been feeling all day. Saejima somehow was full of energy still.

“That felt like a lot longer than two hours.” The child sighed, falling into his seat and slumping over the desk. Sariel was sat on the end of the desk, taking in the size of the room and musing that it would make a good sparring and practice room. She could most likely Shout Lydia across it with minimal injury, although she wasn’t going to test that just yet.

“I don’t know how you put up with it.” Sariel hummed, hearing Yuuta make a sound of agreement before digging out his latest case files and reviewing the information in them. Their input wasn’t needed. The Brave Police could barely even string what happened together, let alone make any sense of the reasons behind it. It was a series of break ins and assaults, but nothing was stolen and the victims could only identify a man in a mask.

Nothing at all they could go on.

They resigned for the night.

* * *

 

The next morning found Sariel knelt on Yuuta’s desk, meditating, hands on her knees and eyes closed, completely focusing herself. In front of her was an Elder Scroll, the one she had dug out herself from the Dwemer ruins and learned Dragonrend from. She didn’t know why but having it laid in front of her helped her to meditate.

When Yuuta sat in the seat, bright and ready to start his work for the day, he found himself staring at Sariel’s ass. “What are you doing?” He asked, getting only a grunt as an answer.

“She is meditating. Be quiet and let her focus.” Lydia answered, leaning against the wall and eating a sandwich.

“Can’t you meditate somewhere else?” Yuuta whined, sounding rather irritated, receiving a short ‘no’ as an answer. “But I have work to do, and I can’t do it with you sat there.” He huffed.

“Be patient. I will be done soon.” Sariel told him. “The sooner you shut up, the sooner I’ll be done, impatient brat.” She muttered in Dovah, hearing Lydia snort laugh. Yuuta glared at her back for the next half an hour, making an indignant huff and pointed look when Sariel finally got up. “Don’t touch that.” She warned him, seeing Yuuta reach for the Scroll from the corner of her eye.

He didn’t listen. Yuuta read the Elder Scroll.

It took seconds after opening it for him to cry out and drop the scroll, clutching at his face and crying out. “I’m blind! I CAN’T SEE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!” The Brave Police were there in an instant, yelling with worry and hostility and Sariel just blocked them out.

“I told you not to touch it! Reading the Elder Scrolls blinds people and can drive them mad without the proper preparations.” Sariel snapped back, grabbing the scroll up and putting it away. “The blindness is temporary, it should go away in a day or so, since your reading was brief.” She sighed.

Yuuta didn’t answer, sitting slowly down in his seat. “Who wrote the Elder Scrolls?” He asked quietly. Looking in it, he had seen a glimpse of infinity and knowledge that he couldn’t comprehend in his brief reading.

“Nobody knows. But they are believed to be shards of the knowledge of the gods themselves, constantly shifting and changing with the tides of fate.” Sariel explained. She knew what Yuuta was thinking. She found herself wondering if the Scroll changed to follow this dimension as well.

“Have you read the Scroll before?” He questioned, intrigued and slightly worried.

“Twice. The first time on the Throat of the World, under the guidance of Paarthurnax. The second time was in the Ancestor Glade, after the ritual of the Ancestor Moths.” She hummed. “What did you see in the Scroll?”

“Everything and nothing at the same time.” Yuuta answered quietly, lowering his head, staring down. He was trying to remember what he saw, but it was like clutching straws.

“Don’t dwell on it. The more you think of the knowledge of the Elder Scrolls, the more it evades you. When it is time, or when the Nine Divines so decide, you will remember the glimpse of infinity that you saw.” Yuuta nodded, before making a realisation that had his eyes widening.

“I can’t do my work now.” He whined, earning a snort and a clap on the shoulder from Sariel.

“That’s what you get for not listening, isn’t it? Next time I tell you not to touch something that belongs to me, you do not touch it. Agreed?” She raised an eyebrow, knowing that he couldn’t see it.

“Agreed.” He muttered after a moment.

“If the Scroll can blind you and drive you mad, then why read it?” Deckerd intervened, his curiosity piqued. It didn’t make sense to him, to risk oneself like that.

“Because I had no choice, that’s why.” Sariel answered shortly, cutting off any further questions about it. “What’s all these papers all about then?” She asked, picking up a few of them. Files with pictures, statements and words she didn’t understand but they looked important enough. Yuuta explained to her that those were his case files, something which earned more bafflement from Sariel. He couldn’t say he was especially surprised.

“Do the police not keep files and records in Skyrim then?” Drill Boy asked. It was a stupid question, but he would look for any excuse to get out of his paperwork. Lydia answered for them.

“You don’t have to worry about a criminal if they are dead. I was a Guard in Whiterun for a short time, before Jarl Balgruuf the Greater took me into his court as a Housecarl. Prisoners weren’t often sent to the Dragonsreach Dungeon, they were simply killed, either in combat or by execution depending on the crime.” Lydia explained. “Whatever record you have is then kept in the Hall of the Dead with your corpse.” The Brave Police didn’t ask any more about that.

“Just don’t go killing anyone here, _Yes_? That is not how we handle things.” Gunmax leaned over to say in a sort of stage whisper.

“I don’t plan to, as long as they don’t try to kill me.” Lydia hummed, taking a book from her pocket to read to pass the time.

The morning remained mostly quiet until the phone rang. Yuuta fumbled around on his desk to find it, answering seconds later. He had the phone upside down, but that made no difference.

You didn’t need to have the phone the right way to hear the sounds of violence. The Brave Police were up and out like shots. Sariel carried Yuuta outside on her back, the temporary blind child clinging to her as though his life was dependant on it.

By the time they got to the scene it was vacated except for the ambulance picking up the poor victim. He was in no fit state to talk and needed to be rushed to the hospital. They set to investigating the area, the man’s apartment. He was an artist, specialising in drawing mythical beasts and legends. Yuuta stumbled his way around, feeling for anything he could, wanting to help and not to feel useless. They let him.

Amidst some rubble Yuuta could feel something. There was a strange energy about it that called out to him to take it. He put it in his back, planning to look at it later, when his sight was returned, if it returned.

The Brave Police couldn’t turn up anything of use, something that frustrated them all. They found that the attack wasn’t a robbery, since nothing had been taken, and the attacker had been extremely violent, destroying furniture and even whole walls. The artist now had a joint bathroom and bedroom. A reading of his journal didn’t suggest that the attack was provoked, but they wouldn’t eliminate that chance until taking a statement from him. They would have to wait at least a day for that.

Two more similar attacks happened that day. Nothing connected the victims but CCTV caught one etching symbols onto her own wall before she was beaten off the camera. That had been a seemingly deliberate choice, forced.

The symbols didn’t seem to have any other meaning.

The next day they were hard at work taking the statements and connecting dots. All the victims knew one person in common. A man they had next to no record of named Sojiro. He lived completely off of the grid outside of the city on a farm, self sufficient and entirely alone with no surviving family or partners. The links were tenuous at best. One was friends with a relative, one attended school with him, the other had done work for him but with no personal contact outside of the business.

All leads had to be followed up though, no matter how strained they were.

The Brave Police went to make the arrest the next day. Yuuta had regained his sight during the night but the moment he entered the farmhouse, he wished he hadn’t.

Sojiro was hung on the wall by his clothes, body beaten and broken. He was dead, his throat slit. The same symbol was cut onto his skin, over his heart. It was the first real murder Yuuta had seen, and a terrifying one at that. They called the coroner right away.

They now had nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is 4403 words long.
> 
> Also I would 10/10 cuddle Sariel. Would you?


	7. The Noose Tightens

Later that night, Yuuta was sat alone in his room, hiding under the covers with a torch. Azuki and Kurumi were already in bed, and they’d arranged for Sariel and Lydia to stay in the front room, using the sofa and a spare camp bed they’d found in the garage. It was well past Yuuta’s bed time when he had school in the morning, but the curiosity was getting the better of him now that he had his sight back - It had come with a newfound appreciation for actually being able to see. In the dim light of his torch, half expecting Deckerd or Kurumi to bust him at any second, Yuuta inspected the mask he had found in the artist’s apartment. It looked much like a hood and mask combined and Yuuta supposed that was how it was worn. His fingers tingled with unfamiliar energy each time he touched it, brushing lightly over the features of a face etched into it.

Yuuta could feel the sudden urge to put the mask on. It was like a voice whispering in the back of his mind, guiding his hands without him fully knowing. Yuuta had the mask half over his face before he realised what he was doing, resisting the urge and taking the mask off, shoving it in his drawer and trying not to be scared. A silly mask couldn’t hurt him, after all. Could it? No, that would be silly. It’s just a mask.

“I’m glad to know someone else is sleeping as restlessly as I am.” Yuuta startled, nearly crying out as he looked up to see Sariel stood in the doorway of his room. “I heard a commotion. What happened?”

“N-nothing. It was just a bad dream.” Yuuta hastily lied, but she seemed to accept that. “You have bad dreams too?” He asked after a second.

“I’ve always been prone to them. I’ve seen an exceptional amount of violence from a young age, and that has it’s effects on children.” Sariel hummed. “And I’ve seen and done a lot of things worthy of the worst nightmares.” She added quietly. Yuuta nodded, understanding. “But in the end, dreams are just dreams. They can’t hurt you, nor anyone else.” She smiled, seeing Yuuta smile back. He settled himself down into bed after a moment, content. Closing the door, Sariel frowned at it. He lied to her. At the same time she could also feel something in there, strangely familiar and yet completely otherworldly and far removed from here. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was though, but that didn’t stop her strongly disliking it.

* * *

 

The next morning in the Brave Police HQ greeted them with another murder case. But this time, they got a recorded message delivered along with it. A message from their culprit.

A man in his roughly 30s with long, messy ginger hair and a beard that looked like it had never seen a razor. He wore a set of black robes and a completely deranged expression, laughing quietly to himself as he set up the camera before stepping back, showing that he was in the main room of a house, with a man spread out on the dining table behind him like a ritual sacrifice.

He spoke like a madman too, challenging the Brave Police to come to him and test his ‘Absolutely wondrous, amazing powers, yes! You’ll never seen anything like it~” He baited them before the screen cut out with the promise that if they didn’t find him in a day, more people would die. It was a brazen move, for definite.

Whatever his challenge to them meant, it angered the Brave Police more than anything. They quickly tracked his location to a manor on the outskirts of the city, owned by a wealthy family. It was safe to assume that they were all dead too.

Or they were, until the Brave Police arrived there, driven by their emotions and without a real plan. Yuuta, Deckerd, Duke, Sariel and Lydia were to charge in, the two robots in their human sized bodies while the rest of the Brave Police waited outside, ready to provide backup and fight any robots that might emerge. The promise of wondrous powers normally meant that criminals had some kind of combat mech hidden away. There was no combat mech. Instead, when they got there, the bodies were raised themselves by magic, possessed to fight against the Brave Police with whatever weapons they had to hand. The family came marching at them, wielding knives, brooms and bats.

“Necromancy!” Sariel spat, disgust written in her voice.

The mad man simply laughed at them, as they were forced to fight the raised dead. It wasn’t a task they did happily. Sariel and Lydia hacked through them with an ease that spelled the fact they handled such things on a worryingly regular basis. Deckerd and Duke both soon got the message that the family were dead, shooting them was the best choice for all involved. It wasn’t a happy realisation, as the bodies crumbled to ash in front of them, full of gunshot holes and one with their head cleanly taken off by Sariel’s greatsword.

“You foul excuse for a mage! Where are you hiding? Come out here and face us with some dignity and honour, or what shreds of it you have left!” Lydia called out, equally as disgusted. To a Nord it was even more so, because their beliefs dictated that the dead’s spirits were taken away to Sovngarde, and to raise them with necromancy was to deprive them of that end.

“I’m right heres, I am! Come and find me~!” The voice echoed, seemingly from one of the corridors. Duke advanced that way, soon struck through the shoulder by a bolt of ice spike from behind, the other way. He backed up quickly enough, to where Yuuta and Sariel were. Lydia advanced cautiously, blade ready to attack or block an attack, whichever would happen first. “Ooo, a Nord! I bet you would make a fine soldier in the undead army.” The mad man whispered dramatically, aiming another spike but Lydia dodged it, swinging in the direction. It struck a conjured atronach, which kept Lydia busy for a while fighting it.

“None of us are joining any undead armies!” Yuuta cried out, a note of determination in his voice. The mad man finally appeared, dropping down from the rafters through the main door just ahead of them and sending a whirlwind of ice their way. Sariel put up a defensive ward right away, blocking most of the damage but leaving her unable to do anything else against the barrage of spells sent their way but keep the ward up.

“Shoot him down!” Sariel ordered after a moment, strain in her voice. Keeping the ward up was sapping her strength, and even the Arch-Mage had her limits. Deckerd hesitated for only a second, struggling with his innate programming. But then he fired a shot, landing it in the criminal’s leg, incapacitating him. The man fell to the floor with a yell of pain, clutching the knee and conceding defeat, letting himself be arrested. They roughly shoved him in the back of the police car that was waiting after cuffing him and dragging him outside.

“Mm, you think you’re all safe now, but you’re not, noes you’re not.” He whispered from the back of the car, finding a clawed gauntlet shoving him back into his seat by his face.

“Save it for the questioning.” Sariel grunted, clearly disgusted at even having to sit in the same vehicle as the necromancer. Yuuta could completely understand why.

The questioning wasn’t too pleasant either. The most they got out of him was that the threat was far from removed: He was but one who served an unnamed master of great power, the master’s legion wearing masks, making themselves nameless as well. The mad man had lost his, but he pointed to Yuuta right away, declaring that the child had found it. Yuuta could feel his eyes widen at that. He also lost a few teeth, courtesy of disrespecting the honour of the dead to Lydia’s face, something that she took as lightly as the punch that knocked out the man’s teeth and made his mouth bleed.

Yuuta knew what would be demanded of him as they left the interview room. And yet he found himself reluctant to go through with it. He’d also found himself reluctant that morning to leave the mask in his draw, and had hidden it back in his bag. After a long, long moment of drawn out silence and scrutiny when they reached the Decker Room he recognised that he honestly wasn’t being given a choice, and took out the mask, putting it on the desk in front of him.

Both Sariel and Lydia recognised it right away. “Is that really-?” Lydia began to ask, barely believing her eyes. Sariel picked it up, inspecting the face carefully. She could feel the energy, the enchantment on her fingertips. It wasn’t one she recognised, but no doubt intended to create servitude.

“A Dragon Priest mask. Not a real one, but rather more a replica, like the ones worn by Miraak’s cult.” Sariel hummed, frowning. “But for such a thing to be here, surely, it can’t be possible. There were many nameless Dragon Priests, but none of them bore masks of power, those were reserved for the priests that had named themselves. Not to mention how they could have even got here.”

“The same way we got here, I suppose.” Lydia sighed, biting her lip. “Perhaps the priest we seek was making a name for themself, or rebelling in their own way against the rules of the Dragon Cult? It’s not impossible.” Sariel nodded in agreement before turning to Yuuta.

“This must be destroyed immediately. And I’m sorry, but I am bound by my honour as Dragonborn to slay the remnants of the Dragon Cult. I cannot let this threat live.” Yuuta didn’t look happy but he could recognise the seriousness in Sariel’s voice, nodding after a moment.

“I don’t take the decision lightly but I trust you. This is clearly something that has a deeper significance than our laws, and so we’ll handle it the way you would in Skyrim. You are in charge until this matter is resolved.” Yuuta declared, trying not to let his voice waver as he realised the severity of what they were facing.

“Thank you, Yuuta. I promise you, I’ll end this as quickly as I can.” Sariel bowed, before turning to face the rest of the Brave Police, arms crossing over her chest as she became thoughtful for a moment. “If this is really a Dragon Priest we face, however that may be possible, then all of this will have been carefully planned. Most likely our new… Guest was a weak link in the system. He’ll be dead in his cell by morning. Added to that, Vomindok Sonaak, this unknown Dragon Priest, will know by now who we are. They will make themselves hidden by any and every method possible. It is unlikely we’ll be able to find them, unless deliberately baited into a trap set. Our odds of winning that fight would be slim.”

“Hold on. We’ve slain Dragon Priests, the named ones, before. And you’ve slain Miraak. Why all the precaution?” Lydia questioned. It wasn’t that she was doubting Sariel's words but rather she wanted an idea of what they faced.

“Before, we’ve had the element of surprise by actively disrupting the priest’s immortal slumbers. Miraak is a more complicated case. Now, we don’t have that. The Dragon Priests were declared powerful rulers of mortals for a reason, and some were even stronger than the dragons they served. This one has the advantage of long planning over us, and will likely have already set in motion the wheels to counter our presence.” Sariel explained, sighing. Lydia nodded, understanding, and a weight of silence settled.

“But what would a Dragon Priest want to go through all this for?” Yuuta broke the silence. He had a feeling it was a stupid question but, well, he had to know for sure.

“Power, Yuuta. The same thing all lesser beings desire. And in Tamriel, power is gained by slaying those that would challenge you.” Lydia answered for him. In this world, that would mean slaying first the Brave Police and then any armies that came to oppose the priest. They understood that pretty quickly.

This was no matter to take lightly.

The rest of the evening became Sariel and Lydia sharing what they (And by extension Miraak) knew of the Dragon Priests and their order. It wasn’t a cheerful discussion.

* * *

 

Sariel didn’t sleep that night. Neither did Yuuta, and at some point in the middle of the night Yuuta snuck out of his room, the excuse of needing a pee or wanting a drink ready on his tongue. Reaching the front room and kitchen area, he saw Lydia hunched over the table bordering the line between awake and asleep, slowly eating the plate of cold leftovers in front of her. He also noted that Sariel wasn’t there.

“Mn, she’s on the, the thingie.” Lydia told him before he could even ask, pointing at the ceiling. Yuuta nodded, understanding, and Lydia went back to slowly shovelling the rice and vegetables in her mouth. The roof was an odd place to be at this time, Yuuta mused, but then again he couldn’t say he was especially surprised.

“Why is she on the roof? And you should probably get some sleep, Lydia, it’s late and you look extremely tired.” Yuuta smiled innocently.

“Sorry. Can’t… Make sense.” Lydia apologised after a moment of wrinkling her brow. Yuuta nodded, telling her in the simplest words not to worry and to rest before he went outside. Sariel was easy enough to find out there, she was sat on the roof at the very edge of the building, looking out across the other houses towards the forests, meditating. Yuuta walked to the side of the house and climbed on the roof as well, grateful for the few boxes left there that he used as a boost. Slowly and quietly, he inched towards Sariel, eventually sitting near her. It was then that he realised she had her eyes closed.

“You should be sleeping, Yuuta.” He almost startled out of his skin when she spoke, an amused smile on her face as she cracked one eye open to look at him.

“How did you know?” He asked when he recovered from the surprise.

“A survivor is always alert of their surroundings. Otherwise, they will not be able to call themselves that anymore.” Sariel answered, her tone betraying her growing amusement.

“Another warrior skill of yours?” Yuuta raised an eyebrow, blinking when Sariel laughed.

“Perhaps the two are related in some way, perhaps not. There are many warriors that are slain in their sleep, because they do not remain alert. No, it’s a skill I’ve had since I was a child.” Sariel hummed. Yuuta couldn’t contain much of his curiosity any longer.

“Why would you need a skill like that as a child? I mean, I understand that Skyrim sounds like a kind of horrible place really but for a kid to have to sleep with one eye open seems unfair to me.” Yuuta frowned. The concept was almost alien to him, because he knew that both his family and Deckerd would keep him safe if anyone ever tried to hurt him like the Fahrzeugs did.

“Ah. I know why you think like that.” Sariel sighed. “Let’s take a trip back to my childhood, shall we? I was raised in a small village in Valenwood, the Bosmer homeland. My mother was a Bosmer like myself but my father was of Nord descent, like Lydia. Him and two Orismer, Orcs that lived in our village in return for guarding it, were the only inhabitants that weren’t Wood Elves. As it happens, my father was also a cruel man, never much of a parent. He hurt myself and my mother often, and so I learned to be alert, in fear that eventually he might have killed me in one of his rages. In the end, things turned out to be the other way, and I slayed him when I was ten. Mother took the blame for me and was most likely executed by the Empire while I fled Valenwood, to the border with Skyrim.”

“That’s… That’s horrible.” Yuuta could feel his eyes sting slightly as he tried to imagine what that must have been like. He’d seen a lot of bad people in his time but this was something else entirely. “You… Do you have any other family?” He asked after a moment, hesitant.

“Not that are related to me by blood. No, my family I’ve put together by my own hands. Myself, my adopted daughter Runa, Lydia, Rayya, Valdimar, Sanguine, Odahviing and Durnehviir. And Paarthurnax I consider to be family, but he might have his disagreements with that.” Sariel explained, humming quietly. Thinking of her family made her feel both mixed pride and pain, wondering if she might ever see them again.

Yuuta couldn’t deny that he was impressed by that. “I bet you’ve made a good family, haven’t you?” He smiled, seeing Sariel grin slightly.

“The best, Yuuta, only the best among mortals, dragons and Daedra. One would never expect us to be as closely knit as we are, if they looked at our messy group. But we are a family like no other and I’ve never been more proud of us.” The grin grew, Sariel knew that but she couldn’t help it.

Yuuta couldn’t help but smile as well, and then change the subject. “If your parents were so bad, who taught you how to fight?”

“A good question. I could wield a dagger before I could even walk. By the time I was your age, Yuuta, I had trained myself to use a sword and had shed my first blood. My father’s was the first life I took, in a long line of many.” Yuuta didn’t waste much time asking his next question.

“Can you teach me to fight like you do?” Sariel frowned slightly, taking a thoughtful look as she moved to size Yuuta up, estimating his strength, skill and potentially his ability. He had the enthusiasm to learn, something she couldn’t decide was a good or a bad thing.

“Can you hold my sword?” She asked of him, holding out the rather large greatsword with one hand. Yuuta took it with both of his, put off balance for only a moment upon realising it was a lot heavier than he expected and adjusting himself to balance it. That earned a slight nod. “Give it a swing, and try not to take my head off in the process.” The instruction was half teasing and Yuuta stuck his tongue out briefly in response before doing so, finding himself on his ass as the blade moved. “Hm. Better than I expected. You’d do best with a one handed blade, I feel. Lydia is more skilled with one handed blades than I am. For now, take my dagger, and we can begin your training in the morning.” Yuuta was more than happy to give the big and heavy greatsword back and take the dagger that she pulled from her boot, of similar design but much smaller. And lighter. It fitted his hand almost perfectly.

“What about the bow?” He asked after a moment, pointing to the rather large bow on Sariel’s back.

“Ah, this bow is almost as big as I am, and it takes a great deal of strength to even draw back the string for even skilled archers. Fortunately, I am a master of the bow as well as a heavy blade. Lydia has a much lighter and easier bow that we can try to teach you with.” Sariel explained, smiling.

“Thank you, Sariel.” Yuuta grinned, seemingly more than pleased with the results of his conversation even as he ran to the edge of the roof, climbing back down and heading inside to bed, leaving her to resume her meditations.

* * *

 

Urunyan roused the house in the morning, knocking around the pots and pans into the sink in the kitchen. He came very close to being shot with an arrow by Lydia for the sudden disturbance but she realised what the cause was before loosing the arrow, making a distinctly displeased grunting sound. Kurumi was not happy either when she came storming down the stairs, yelling about stupid cats and ruined beauty sleep. Urunyan didn’t care and just meowed at them before strutting out of the window. Kurumi huffed and marched upstairs, still grumbling while Azuki sighed and started to clean up the mess.

Yuuta was not overly pleased either as he toasted some bread, and shoved it into his mouth, half way through eating it when he remembered last night. His expression suddenly brightened as he ran upstairs, grabbing the Daedric dagger from his bedside table and running back down. Grabbing Lydia’s hand, he dragged them both into the back garden. Sariel was amused while Lydia was giving her a confused and slightly unimpressed look when she started to figure out what was going on.

“I never had the chance to tell Lydia. I’ve agreed to teach Yuuta how to use a sword and bow. And there’s no better time to learn than as soon as possible. But I think it will be best if you teach this, since you are better trained and more experienced with one handed blades than I am.” Sariel explained, hearing Lydia give a defeated sigh.

“I have my doubts if that is a good idea.” Lydia merely informed, taking out her blade and sizing up Yuuta for herself. “Has this child ever been in a fight like this before?”

“Not like this, no, but he is no stranger to threats to his life.” Sariel answered, before turning to Yuuta, crouching in front of him. “Are you willing to shed my own blood, Yuuta? It’s an accomplishment that not many can claim, that the first blood they shed was that of the Dragonborn.” The amusement was still in her tone when Yuuta nodded, his expression rather determined. “Are you willing to accept that your own blood will be shed without complaining or crying for your mama,  _ milk drinker _ ?” Yuuta seemed more hesitant at that but eventually he nodded in agreement. “Very good then, because these are both inevitable parts of your training.” Sariel straightened, rolling her shoulders. “Take it away, teacher.”

“One of you two is going to end up a bloody mess soon and I am willing to place every septim I own on who it will be.” Lydia frowned, but nonetheless carried on.

Yuuta turned out to be a surprisingly agile fighter, and the dagger suited his stature and style better than a sword would have. Lydia seemed somewhat impressed with his ability, considering that he was essentially a newborn to the blade, and so far he’d only lost it twice. He manage to land one hit on both Lydia and Sariel, which made him overconfident even if it connected to only their armour without injury. He didn’t realise just how soft they were being, otherwise he would be in ribbons and not just have a few, small slices in his skin, barely breaking the surface.

At some point Deckerd had started watching, at first out of concern for Yuuta but even he could recognise how much they were restraining themselves from actually hurting him, stopping short of dealing any real damage.

By lunchtime Yuuta had tired himself out, after only three hours. Lydia was trying not to laugh at that. Even Runa lasted longer when she first started training. Sariel had an amused but proud look on her face, offering Yuuta a small healing potion. “It tastes better than it looks, trust me.” She grinned, seeing the suspicious look Yuuta was giving her. He drank it, after a long moment of waiting, and pulled a rather disgusted face that earned him a laugh.

“The child has been spoiled. You should try eating the ingredients that make those, they turn out to be actually much improved in the potion.” Lydia told him, patting Yuuta on the shoulder even as the small slashes on his skin healed over. “Believe me, when it comes to actual combat, the taste of one of those will become like heaven. But not as much as the warmth of a healing spell.”

An emergency call from Saejima disrupted any further conversation, summoning them to the police HQ right away, even if it was supposed to be their day off.

* * *

 

When they got there, they were greeted by the sight of Saejima forced to his knees on the top step before the entrance doors, with one of the Dragon Priest cultists holding a dagger to his throat. They found themselves admiring that he looked so calm for the situation. Lydia drew her sword right away.

“Stay your weapons. I am only a messenger.” The cultist told them. He sounded barely an adult, if he was one at all. “The Master wishes you to meet him, Dragonborn. By yourself. Bring only the Elder Scroll and the child leader.” His message delivered, the cultist then slit his own throat. He was dead before his body even hit the floor.

Saejima straightened his tie and stood up, looking only mildly shaken by the events that just happened. He cleared his throat soon enough. “So, what will you do? I propose not giving in to the demands.”

“A reasonable proposition but one that would only lead to further suffering and bloodshed.” Sariel sighed, crossing her arms. “No, I will go. I’ve been issued a warrior’s challenge and I intend to answer the call. I am no coward.”

“So you intend to put Yuuta’s life in danger and hand over a source of knowledge with potentially endless destructive power in the wrong hands to face something that we don’t even fully know the extent of yet?” Lydia questioned, frowning and definitely not pleased with that.

“No, that isn’t what I intend. I never said that I did not have a plan.” Sariel got that look on her face, the one that spelled deception of her own. “Wherever this priest wants to meet us, it won’t be at his lair. And no doubt that within his lair he will have most likely a weapon or something else hidden away, something he thinks will give an advantage. Lydia, I want you, Deckerd and Duke to sneak into this base and find out what it is. If it’s information, steal it and use it, if it’s a weapon, destroy it.” Sariel looked up at Deckerd. “If you would not mind doing that, of course?” She asked, seeing Deckerd nod. “Everyone else, be on standby and be ready in case of anything that might happen. At all. Dragon Priests have been known to tear apart entire continents while fighting before.”

Saejima could feel his collar growing hot again. The power of these strange warriors was something that scared him more than he could let show. Sariel passed him with an authority that outmatched his own. He let her go, and instead moved to assemble the rest of the Brave Police into a rapid response unit.

They gathered in the courtyard outside the Brave Police area of the HQ. Sariel strolled out into the sunlight, Yuuta at her heels as she adjusted the Elder Scroll on her back, getting it to fit comfortably with her greatsword and bow. Yuuta had been given a gun and a holster to carry it in, and he was struggling to get it to sit right on his chest. They didn’t make them in children’s size.

Lydia sized the pair of them up, arms crossed over her chest. She knew there was no changing minds about this but there was also no use hiding her worry. “Do you even know where you’re going?” She asked.

Sariel stopped in the middle of stretching her arms, trying to ease the tension from her body. It was something she often did before long journeys, or the cold of Skyrim would cramp her muscles and cause pain. “I won’t know until we get there, Lydia. I let fate guide our path.” Sariel hummed, seeing Lydia frown.

“You’ll be walking into a trap.” She pointed out.

“I know. But I trust in you Lydia. Even if my soul is sent back to Sovngarde, I know that you can defeat this threat.” Sariel smiled. She wasn’t expecting Lydia to then pull her into a rather tight hug.

“If you go to Sovngarde without me again then I will personally find whatever means got you there the first time and kick your ass for it. You better come back, you understand?” Lydia tried to sound threatening, but it didn’t work. Her worry outweighed it.

Any other time Sariel might have laughed, but this time she didn’t. Instead she hugged Lydia back just as tightly. “I don’t plan on dying without you yet. After all, we still have things we promised each other to do.”

Lydia was satisfied with that. “It's been an honour, my Thane. We’ll meet again soon, but until then, Talos guide you.” She pulled back to salute Sariel, who returned it without hesitation.

“May your enemies flee from you as your sword breaks their bones and shatters their will to fight. I’ll be back before long.” Sariel blessed, before looking up at the Brave Police gathered around them. “May the Divines be with you too, brave fighters. I’ll protect Yuuta with my own life.”

They saluted her too, something that touched her slightly even as she started walking, Yuuta waving his goodbyes as he hurried after her. They disappeared soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a tough chapter to write. I had different plans for it at the start and changed track several times. There was still a lot that needed to be cleared up and progress to be made that would have made this chapter even longer than just 4997 words.


	8. Investigations

“Come, it is time for us to do our part now.” Lydia looked up at Deckerd and Duke, making a rather surprised sound when the former suddenly picked her up. She settled soon enough though, letting Deckerd carry her inside. “A little warning perhaps would be welcome next time. The last thing as big as you to pick me up was a giant by my leg, who made a valiant attempt at tossing me half way from Whiterun to Riften.” She was vaguely aware that the places had no meaning to Deckerd but the general message was clear enough.

She was more than happy when Deckerd put her down by Yuuta’s desk, sitting down in the seat there with a sigh. “Any clues on our messenger? Anybody important or just another lowlife nobody?” She asked, tilting her head slightly, seeing the information pop up on the rather large screen at the end of the room.

He wasn’t even an adult yet. 15 year old, male, ran away from home and committed several counts of petty theft. The police had been aware of him but no move had been made to track him down as more pressing cases took their time and resources.

“Both of our cultists so far have been criminals.” Duke noted. “It might be coincidence though.”

“I doubt it is. Our Dragon Priest has to have gained power and influence somehow and who better for a criminal to make serve him than other criminals?’ Lydia hummed. “Historically they became kings of men, kings who were kings because their enemies fell before their blade and weakened by their Voices. But in this case, our priest operated in the shadows, Nocturnal’s domain, where the criminals live. It fits.”

“You’re no stranger to crime solving, are you?” Deckerd mused, earning a shrug from Lydia.

“I told you, I was a Whiterun Guard for a time. While that normally meant dealing with attackers and anyone who threatened hold security, it also included dealing with criminals.” She explained. “Although driving away bandit raids was definitely the more common event.”

Lydia took to something she rarely did: Taking down notes. Never high on her list of priorities, she rarely had the time for reading or writing although on occasion she mused that when she was old, she would write a book titled ‘Dragonborns: 1001 Reasons They Are More Trouble Than They're Worth’ documenting her adventures and mishaps with Sariel. She already had enough of them for a two part novel.

About ten minutes later she finished taking her notes, a couple of pages long on everything that she knew thus far. She hoped that it would help her follow what was going on and maybe give some clues. It was certainly more complicated than dealing with the usual small thieves and the like. Her note taking finished, a new discovery was made by her.

When Deckerd looked up from his case files a few minutes later, he was greeted by the sight of Lydia spinning around in the chair and wheeling herself across the loft, all while grinning like a kid being given a big bag of sweets. He could feel his jaw hang open slightly. Of all the things that could impress a mighty Nordic warrior, it was an office chair on wheels. He closed his mouth and went to ask a question but Lydia beat him to it.

“What is this contraption? I’ve never seen a seat on wheels like this even in the College of Winterhold.” Lydia spun herself around again, settling back at the desk and trying to regain her composure. “I’ll suggest Phinis to look into conjuring us up some similar devices.”

“What even is the College of Winterhold? I’ve heard it mentioned a couple of times.” Duke asked, even as Drill Boy started pointing and telling to the rest of Build Team that ‘see? Not just children and brats spin on their chairs!’.

“It’s the school in the Winterhold Hold where all mages go to learn and study the arts of magic, and the masters of magic teach there. Magic takes brains though, so it’s also where the cleverest people in Skyrim reside with a great library of knowledge. Sariel is the Arch Mage, the head of the college.” Lydia explained, shrugging slightly. “And I know what you’re going to say next. No, you’re right, Sariel is not a great mage but she did save the college from destruction and has kind of managed to improve their relations with the Jarl of Winterhold. And she’s Dragonborn. So they made her Arch Mage after Savos Aren’s passing.” That satisfied their curiosity.

Their discussion was cut short by a report of a robot running riot in the city. The resigned way that the Brave Police mobilised to deal with it made Lydia realise that this was a very common occurrence, although the way Deckerd spoke as they approached the location suggested to her that Yuuta’s absence presented them a new problem entirely. “Without Yuuta, we can’t receive the unification command’. She mused on when they had fought the dragon, how the small robots were replaced with big ones, realising that they had combined to become bigger. And Yuuta somehow gave them the means to do that.

She didn’t get the time to ask how. Lydia drew her blade right away after getting out of Deckerd, yelling words trained into her even without realising. “You have committed crimes against this land and it’s people. In the name of the Jarl I order you to stand down!” The snotty old man piloting the robot sneered down at her. She realised that she was speaking Tamrielic and he couldn’t understand her, although he understood what having an Ebony Sword pointed at him meant. That was more than could be said for most of the common bandit cur they dealt with.

It meant try and stomp on her with the mech. She had dealt with Dwarven Centurions trying to stop on her and inflicting damage with their steam and hammers. Lydia dodged the stomp easy enough with a quick roll while the Brave Police charged in to attack, trying to tackle down or at least overwhelm the mech with sheer numbers. The plan wasn’t working though, without their combined forms they didn’t have the strength for anything else than being tossed around like ragdolls by the mech while the man piloting it cackled madly, clearly pleased, under the impression that victory was assured.

Victory was assured until the arrival of the J-Roader carrying Saejima and Toudou. Lydia was slightly back, using her bow to try and hit the mech’s weak points. Most of her arrows stuck harmlessly in the mech’s plating. Saejima singled her out right away, ducking bullets to reach the angry Nord warrior, noting rather quickly that she was as frustrated at their odds as the Brave Police themselves were. Deckerd provided cover for them, attacking the mech from behind and acting as a distraction along with Gunmax and Shadowmaru so that they could talk briefly.

“Take this, Lydia.” Saejima held out a Brave Police badge and a small card, containing the combination data. She took them both, staring with mild confusion. “As much of mixed feelings I have about the circumstances, in the case of Yuuta’s disappearance, I have decided to elect you, Lydia, as temporary Boss of the Brave Police. This is your badge and the data card that will allow you to issue the unification command. Use the words ‘ _ Brave Up! _ ’ and the Brave Police units will know to do the rest themselves.”

Lydia studied him for a moment. Saejima didn’t bother with the posing actions like he had for Yuuta, as entertaining as they were he felt Lydia was more likely to take his head off for making her look a fool, and he rather liked having his head attached to his shoulders. Whatever Lydia was thinking she must have come to a conclusion soon, since she slipped the data card into the badge, stepped into clear view and cleared her throat.

“ _ BRAVE UP _ !” Lydia called, the words clear and distinctive in her Nord accent as she triggered the badge. She watched as before her eyes the Brave Police started combining, becoming bigger, stronger robots and soon the field was J-Decker, Duke Fire, Super Build Tiger, Gunmax Armour and Shadowmaru by himself. It was like nothing she had seen before, the way they merged to become one, finding herself wondering if it was technology or magic that held them together. While Lydia had seen their combined forms twice she had never seen the process itself.

The snotty old man was somewhat less snotty at that. Lydia loosed an arrow that cracked the glass of his cockpit and stayed there, scaring him into mashing buttons as though in a panic. They meant business now.

The man and his mech were quickly overwhelmed, despite his valiant attempts to fight back, shooting madly and firing whatever explosives he had stored away. One landed almost in front of Lydia as she was knocking an arrow, the shrapnel giving her a nice helping of cuts on her face and lodging in parts of her armour. The Brave Police were used to it, and most of the shots had little effect on their united forms. J-Decker Max Cannon Mode quickly finished off the mech while Duke Fire seized the pilot when he ejected, scrabbling furiously as though he could get away and only succeeding in breaking his nails.

Lydia advanced, sword drawn as Duke Fire put the definitely no longer snotty old man on the floor. Without his mech, he lost his confidence and will to resist. Under the point of Lydia’s blade he practically cuffed himself and climbed into the police car, leaving them with a rather large mess to clean up. Fortunately, the Brave Police were rather efficient at cleaning mess and Lydia watched as soon the streets were clear and contractors arrived to start their work fixing the roads and buildings. “What the hell was that even about?” She muttered, taking out a cloth to wipe the blood from her face. Nobody answered to that.

* * *

Back at the Brave Police HQ, Deckerd read aloud the report while Lydia listened, a medic working on her face to pick out the shrapnel and treat the gashes left in her skin. She had refused to go to hospital but had also ran out of healing potions, and was certainly no mage. This was the closest they could get to an option that satisfied them all. Initially they had turned to her to read the file, most likely out of habit, but then realised that she couldn’t read Japanese. “So all of that was the result of senseless violence and an attempt to display power?” Lydia concluded at the end of it.

“In short, yes.” Deckerd nodded. “Most likely he thought that without Yuuta we would be too weak to fight back, and so now was the perfect time to strike and try to take control by instilling terror into the hearts of the people.”

“It’s nice to know that mindless violence like that exists outside of Tamriel too.” Lydia mused. “And perhaps. But he underestimated us.”

“Why didn’t you run when the explosives started firing, or at least when you got hurt? Sorry, but it seems stupid to me to carry on fighting when you know you have no chance. You’re way more squishy than us, he could have stomped on you and that would be that.” Gunmax put in.

Lydia stood up, a burning fire in her eyes and determination written on her face. “ _ A true Nord never backs down. _ Dishonour to you for even suggesting such a thing, I will fight until my last breath.” Gunmax closed his mouth and didn’t question that again. Lydia sat back down so that the medic could finish putting a patch on her cheek. “Anything else we have for other cases?” She asked.

“We think we may have narrowed down our Dragon Priest's lair to the mountains just outside the city. We have a reported lead on a robbery case where an item of priceless value was taken from a wealthy businessman in a heist a few months ago but, given the circumstances, we think we know which one you’ll prioritise.” Duke listed, putting his papers to the side and giving a slight smile. “You still want Deckerd, Shadowmaru and I to accompany you? If so, then we need to pay a quick trip to Toudou. Give us an hour or so.” Lydia nodded.

“The rest of you can look into the other cases. But be ready for anything.” She ordered, watching as the Brave Police saluted her before resuming her work.

True to their word the trio returned in under an hour in their human sized bodies, ready and almost eager to get going. Lydia almost thought they were trying to impress her as they drove the J-Roader as close to the narrowed down area they could, ending in a small opening of trees part way up the mountain.  _ Dragons like mountains, _ she mused to herself, sending Duke and Shadowmaru to scout around and see if they could find out exactly where the lair entrance was while she and Deckerd set up a sort of mobile base.

They returned with news soon enough. The opening was a small cave to the west that lead into a series of large caverns and dungeons, in the middle of which was a shrine and tomb the cultists were worshipping. It was as heavily guarded as Lydia thought it would be, with regular patrols and stationed guards moving around. Getting in was bound to be interesting, that much she could say for certain, especially since stealth was not her strong suit. They had barely any chance of fighting their way inside.

Sneaking was the only viable option, at least at first. Lydia wouldn’t deny her disappointment at that, she was a warrior itching to fight, but suicide was not on the menu.

“Alright. Shadowmaru, get in and see if you can cause a distraction. Get their attention somehow but do not disrupt their ritual, not until we know what they are doing. I’ve seen things like this only a couple of times before and they are never good, no matter what you do.” Shadowmaru nodded in acknowledgement at the order. “Walk with the Shadows. Once the distraction is done, we slip in and split up. Find out what you can and try not to get caught. Killing my way through a lair of necromantic dragon cultists who vastly outnumber us isn’t really high on my planned activities for today.”

They camped in the trees just outside while Shadowmaru went in, waiting for the distraction. They got their distraction soon enough, a loud crash echoing from within and the guards rushing inside. Lydia knew they were expecting them even before she went in and most likely that there was a trap set for them. Sariel often whined that she ran face first into every trap made but, well, Lydia didn’t care enough for it to stop her killing her way through everything. She kept to the back, following a side passage around and surveying the room from a ledge she found above and out of sight. It smelled like a tomb, that was for sure, and the coffin at the centre of it definitely looked like it had come out of a Nordic ruin. The cultists were chanting and she could feel an energy in the room, one she had not felt since Sariel and her had gatecrashed the necromancers trying to summon Potema, the Wolf Queen.

They were giving their energy and strength directly to their leader, the Dragon Priest, who of course was not present. She spotted Duke on the other side of the room and some guards approaching him, signalling him to move on quickly. While he didn’t actively understand the hand signal system Sariel and her used, he did get the urgency in them and scurried along. Nodding to herself, Lydia eased herself backwards from the ledge she was on, dropping as silently as she could to the floor. Nobody seemed to notice as she snuck along the edge of the ritual chamber, meeting Duke and Deckerd at a cave opening, a winding passage that was rather well decorated.

Which meant it was the way they needed to go. She took out her bow and readied an arrow before inching forward, Deckerd and Duke drawing their guns. It was eerily empty of guards in the corridor and they soon reached the end of it, three hollowed out rooms, rather luxuriously decorated with what Deckerd identified as stolen goods. Two of them were bedrooms, better decorated than the servant quarters Duke had found, and an office.

An office that had someone in, who was trying to hide under the desk rather noisily. Needless to say he gave up right away, knowing he was busted the moment he hit his head on the underneath of the desk. A hand stuck up, waving slightly. “Hello, hello, please don’t kill me. Please. I can explain everything.” He was practically shitting himself, it was clear from his tone and they watched as the man, about 25 or so in full Dragon Priest robes extracted himself from under the desk. Lydia wanted to shoot him in the face right away but she refrained from doing so.

“Is there really that much to be explained? I know what you are.” Lydia raised an eyebrow, her tone serious and intimidating.

“Yes, yes, because this really is not what it seems. Mostly. It’s that damned mask doing it!” He squirmed, a quiet, almost whimper like sound coming from when Lydia frowned. “My name is Hayato, I was a pretty thief for years with my younger brother Kosuke. We stole and sold a lot of just about anything of value we could get our hands on for years but then my little brother decided to steal that damn mask from that business man. He put it on as a joke but I swear down since then it’s drove him crazy, he’s gone mad going on about ancient powers and taking control of the land and this… This stupid ritual stuff and the killing and kidnappings. I told him I wanted no part of it and he tried to kill me to.”

Lydia’s frown didn’t budge. “Sounds about right. But why should I believe a word you say?”

“I know you’re like some great warrior from another dimension and your friend, that elf woman, is some kinda Dragon baby or some shit and Kosuke was yelling that it was time to test his creation on her. You have no reason to not take my head off, I know, but I swear to you I’m not lying, I just want my little brother back and this madness to end, even if we spend the rest of our lives in prison.” Hayato sounded sincere enough at that. 

Lydia lowered her bow slightly, but she didn’t relax. “Tell me more about this creation.”

“Kosuke kept rambling about things I didn’t understand while he was working on it, all I know was that he wanted subjects to test it, something about making it strong enough to replicate Akatosh’s gift or something, I don’t know. All I know is that your friend’s life is in danger whether it works or not.” Hayato tried to explain, waving his hands rather frantically to get across the picture. 

“Is such a thing even possible?” Deckerd raised an eyebrow, looking at a confused, frowning Lydia.

 “I do not know. But fortunately for us, I know a master when it comes to souls. He’s only had all of time to study it. Take us outside, I feel you’ll be useful if you come with us.” Lydia motioned with her bow and Hayato scrambled across the room, leading them through a hidden exit to the side of the mountain. The lack of musty cave air felt rather good, along with the slight breeze.

“So who is this expert and how are you going to talk to them, exactly?” Deckerd questioned when they were outside. Lydia didn’t answer, instead drawing in a deep breath and Shouting to the sky.

“DUR NEH VIIR!”

Deckerd could feel his jaw dropping as a  _ dragon _ appeared before him, summoned from he didn’t know where. Hayato made a squeaming sound next to him and tried to hide behind Duke muttering to himself about how impossible that was.

“I hear your voice, Sister Lydia. But these are not the skies of Tamriel, where and why do you call me?” Durnehviir lowered his head, making a questioning tone. 

“I didn’t actually expect you to hear or answer my call. Where we are, I do not know either but as for why, well, it’s quite the story.” Lydia sighed, seeming a little relieved but that dissipated quickly. “Sariel’s life is in danger and we need your expertise in necromancy. There’s some small time thief who’s possessed by a dragon priest mask and he’s created some kind of machine to absorb dragon souls and I don’t even know if such a thing is possible but I don’t want to find out.” She explained in a hurry, hearing Durnehviir make a slight snorting sound.

“I am in no hurry to gamble with Sister Sariel’s life to find out either, as valuable as it would be to my research. The Dovahkiin has suffered too much in her life already.” Durnehviir agreed, lowering his head to let Lydia climb onto his back. “I did not realise that any of the dragon cult still lived, although I suspect the culprit here is one of my former followers.”

“They’re not living per se, more like… Undeath. But not in the same way as the Draugr, vampires or anyone in the Soul Cairn. It’s… Complicated.” Lydia shrugged, settling in place in the gap on Durnehviir’s neck. This was her first time ever riding a dragon and she tried to pretend that she wasn’t terrified, and Durnehviir took pity not to comment on it. 

Deckerd and Duke were both struck by what an impressive sight the Nord warrior looked, mounted on the dragon’s back, even as she issued their unification orders. There was no time for waiting around and even before they had finished, Durnehviir took to the sky, looking ever graceful and terrifying in flight. He seemed to know where to go and Lydia was more than content to just cling onto his neck and try not to look down. She didn’t much enjoy the flight and more than once she found herself wondering how the hell Sariel or Miraak ever coped with it, coming to the conclusion that it must be a Dragonborn thing. They seemed to all be mental, after all, in their own ways. 

Lydia lost track of the time they were flying for but she knew as they approached their destination, knowing by the fact that she witnessed half of a mountain being levelled and the sounds of battle followed soon after. Durnehviir dove down soon, Shouting with his own voice, and Lydia witnessed a sight that she couldn’t begin to understand but that filled her with dread nonetheless. “SARIEL!” She yelled at the top of her lungs, scrambling from Durnehviir’s neck the moment they were close enough that the fall wouldn’t instantly break her legs and sprinting to the side of her friend.

And then they weren’t on the mountain anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every chapter but this one wanted to be written. I managed it in the end though.


	9. Intermission: Spitfire

Delphine could grumble for days. She wanted to grumble for days and she probably would have a good rant at Esbern when she got back to Sky Haven Temple but for now, she was stuck climbing the 7000 steps to High Hrothgar. The Greybeards had a strong dislike - Well, it was closer to hate but she wasn't sure just how much peaceful monks who sat meditating on mountains and feared their own power could hate - towards the Blades but they had come across a small matter that required their help. Or the help of Paarthurnax, most likely. Delphine shuddered at the thought. Sariel had described Paarthurnax as a human-loving dragon while the Blades as dragon-hating humans and while she could argue it, Delphine didn't see the value. And she also still had trouble wrapping her mind around the concept of a human-loving dragon.

It gave her a headache, and that didn't improve her mood any, at all.

Delphine couldn't say she was surprised when she threw open the doors of High Hrothgar in a huff and immediately found herself hit by Ice Form, falling down rather gracelessly in the doorway, frozen as a statue while one of the Greybeards was staring her down. Well, at least she wasn't dead. She tried to work out which of the Greybeards it was, staring at his beard and trying to remember. Master Einarth, Arngeir answered the question for her.

He'd slightly damaged his vow of peace but Arngeir was reasoning that having an angry Blade charge in after they had expressly wished for Paarthurnax's death was relatively understandable, and Kynareth would most likely forgive him.

What Delphine supposed was monk nonsense.

"So, a Blade walks into High Hrothgar uninvited and alone, no less, after desiring the death of our leader and being denied it. What could you possibly want from us?" Arngeir questioned her when the Shout wore off and Delphine slowly climbed to her feet, scowling.

"Look, I'm not especially pleased about being here either but the Dragonborn wants us to somehow get along and Esbern and I have a little... Situation that is far outside of the Blade's experience. So rather reluctantly, we have little choice but to ask you for help." Delphine explained, watching Arngeir size her up and measure her words.

"And what could you need the help of the Greybeards with?" He asked, a tone in his voice that Delphine couldn't quite place the intention of. She mentally started calculating how likely it was for her to survive if she was Shouted straight back out the door she came in.

"Well... It's easier for me to show you than to try and explain." Delphine sighed, reaching into a pouch on her belt and pulling something out, cupping it in her hands. Arngeir was definitely surprised when she opened her hands and held out a baby dragon. It was tiny, barely the size of her hands, with green scales, a tiny tail and small wings it couldn't yet fly with, although it still tried to climb up Delphine's arm and sit as high as possible. "Meet Spitfire." She introduced them, right as Spitfire sneezed, a small puff of fire coming from his nostrils and disappearing in the air right away while he fell down on his butt, unbalanced. She didn't want to call him cute. She knew what he would grow into and she was trying her hardest not to think of him as cute.

"And just... How did you find a baby dragon?" Arngeir asked. He didn't think there was any, especially after the Dragon War almost drive them to extinction.

"We found, well, the Dragonborn found an egg by the side of the river just outside Karthspire. She brought it in, put it to warm by one of the fires and a couple of days later it hatched into this. I wasn't especially thrilled but as it turns out the Dragonborn has a severe weakness for small, cute creatures and I would HATE to be on the receiving end of her anger if anything happened to Spitfire. Esbern knows nothing about raising dragons, not that I'm especially surprised, and while the Dragonborn has an affinity for dealing with him and looking after him, we can't exactly rely on her to be there the whole time, since she has so much to do and her own daughter to raise." She explained, still trying her hardest not to call it cute, even though watching Spitfire scrabble around her palm and watch Arngeir with big, curious eyes had sucked all of the usual displeasure from her voice.

Arngeir had definitely noticed that. "Unfortunately, we know nothing of how to look after dragons. Paarthurnax takes care of himself and none of us have ever expected to see a baby dragonling in our lives. What did you think we would be able to do?"

"I was rather dreading you saying that, although I had a feeling it would be the case." Delphine muttered drily. "As for what I expected, I don't know. For you to talk to him or something or take him off of our hands so he can set your tablecloth on fire and not ours."

"We can do neither of these things. Where is the Dragonborn now?" Arngeir raised an eyebrow, even as the remaining three Greybeards huddled around to see Spitfire for themselves.

"Last I knew she was on her way to Winterhold. Something about that place being less stable than Sheogorath's mind, but that was over a week ago now. We've not heard anything since, it's like she just disappeared. Again." Delphine shrugged. As much as Delphine wished otherwise she was painstakingly aware that Sariel had commitments to others as well as to the Blades and they all needed tending to, and while Delphine and Esbern were still working on clearing up Sky Haven Temple and recruiting new members to the Blades, there wasn't much for them that needed doing, which meant she often went for long stints of not seeing them. Although that never normally involved seemingly vanishing off the face of Tamriel for so long.

Arngeir made a somewhat displeased noise.

"I was going to go directly to Paarthurnax myself but I was told I'd be dead before I'd even get there. Against my better judgement, I've been told to trust him and I'm going with that, for now." Delphine said out loud, hoping that maybe, they would get the hint. And not send her flying down the mountain.

"And you expect us to take your word on this?" Arngeir raised an eyebrow. "The Blades' memory may be long but so is ours. And Paarthurnax does not receive visitors whenever they so please. He rarely speaks even to us."

"And yet the Dragonborn can go up there whenever she pleases?" Delphine raised an eyebrow.

"The Dragonborn is an exception. High Hrothgar is open to her and she can clear the way herself. Although thanks to you, she was forced to take that path before she was ready." Arngeir shot back.

Delphine didn't take the bait. For men of peace, the Greybeards seemed thoroughly unopposed to sending venomous words her way. Resentment did things like that, she guessed. "Someone had to get something done around here rather than just sitting talking to the sky." The jab seemed to land it's mark, she could see Arngeir drawing himself up. "Anyway, you can answer to her why you wouldn't help us deal with this tiny menace, and it can be you who has your head parted from your shoulders if anything happens to it. And that is the NICEST thing that could happen to you."

Arngeir caved at that. "It seems I have little choice. Even they Greybeards must bend with change. Fine, I will take you to Paarthurnax, as long as you leave your weapons here. ALL of them."

Delphine was willing to accept that compromise. Not only because she had no choice, but also to show her good faith. Whether she liked it or not. Spitfire climbed onto her head, perching himself in her hair and looking around as Delphine passed her sword, bow, quiver of arrows and the dagger in her boot to Master Wulfgar. Arngeir seemed content enough with that. "Follow me." Arngeir instructed, turning around and striding towards the courtyard. He didn't say anything else but Delphine could practically feel the irritation radiating off of him and the remaining three Greybeards stared at her back with mixed looks. Or maybe they were just staring at Spitfire still, the dragonling had made himself comfortable perched on her head. Dragons liked mountains and it seemed Spitfire had decided Delphine was going to be his mountain.

She hoped he wouldn't still think that later on. The last thing she needed in her life was a dragon being attached to her, physically or emotionally. He clung to her like a duck to it's mother.

Arngeir stopped at a large gate at the end of the courtyard, a sort of magic barrier beyond it, although a natural one. "Would you like to continue?" He asked, gesturing as though for her to walk through.

"I have a feeling this is what I was warned about when I said I would be dead before I get there by myself. I might not be any of you but I'm a Breton, I'm attuned to magic enough to feel the natural magic radiating from here." Delphine crossed her arms slightly. Spitfire on her head she could feel backing up, as though he didn't want to get any closer, although his big eyes were still looking around, taking in every detail he saw, and he was especially focused on Arngeir.

"Insightful. You are correct, only those strong with the Voice can pass unhindered." Arngeir nodded. Delphine couldn't tell if it was some kind of test. The Greybeard turned to the gate, taking a deep breath and Shouting. "LOK VAH KOOR!" The barrier cleared away in seconds. "The effect is only temporary, so we must hurry. And there are more of these yet to pass." When Arngeir hurried through Delphine followed, Spitfire relaxing on her head, at ease once again, even as the cold wind bit into Delphine's skin, as though trying to freeze her very bones.

Hurrying was something she was more than content with, although if the top of the mountain was like this too, she wasn't hanging around. The denizens of the mountains seemed to leave them be as well. She saw a frost troll from the corner of her eye partway up and a couple of ice wraiths, but they were all preoccupied, and none bothered them save for a goat that stole some bread from Delphine's pouch. How a goat had gotten there, she didn't want to question.

As they approached the top, Spitfire climbed down onto her shoulder, hunching slightly as though he could sense, even before they got there, the small gathering of dragons on top of the mountain. She supposed it was small, at least, Delphine had never seen a gathering of dragons and she hoped never to see one again, counting six right away and Paarthurnax himself. They eyed her warily. They knew of the Blades and, well, her armour hid nothing at all about who she was. Her sword arm was twitching, even though she had no sword to grasp, and it was only by sheer force of will she could keep it still.

"So, a Blade wanders onto my strunmah, my mountain." Paarthurnax mused. "Tell me, Arngeir, why have you brought her here?" He asked, tilting his head at the Greybeard. Arngeir stilled his face.

"I brought her here because she has questions to ask you, questions that are out of either of our knowledge to answer. She comes with no hostility and no arms to bear." Arngeir answered. Delphine appreciated that he was actually defending her. Paarthurnax was visibly weighing those words.

"I never foresaw the Blades ever willingly approaching me for help, especially after calling for my death." Paarthurnax noted. "What could you want from me?"

Delphine stepped forward and plucked Spitfire from her shoulder, holding him out in her hands, letting Paarthurnax eye up and judge him. It got the old dragon's attention, that is for sure. "This. Or, well, maybe some advice on what to do with it. If he gets harmed I'll lose my head, or worse, and taking care of dragonlings is something far outside of the Blades knowledge."

"You focus on killing, not keeping alive. It is wise to know both, for there are situations where they are equally as useful." Paarthurnax jumped down from his word wall, broken as it was, and lowered his head to get a better look at Spitfire. "Hmm. How old is he?"

Delphine got a whiff of old dragon breath and she had to fight back a grimace. "Barely two weeks. We hatched him ourselves in Sky Haven Temple. Well, I say we, the Dragonborn did. Esbern was trying to guess whether it was some kind of bird egg or something else. None of us expected the actual results."

"Or you would not have incubated the egg in the first place, no? It is long since I have seen a hatchling of our kind. I would take him from you, but yet he is too young to be separated from his mother, who he has decided is you." Paarthurnax hummed. Delphine could feel her hopes plummet like a stone.  _Damn it, that is the LAST thing I wanted!,_ she cursed mentally. She could feel something in her mind cracking slightly.

"And how long would it take before he is ready to leave his mother's care?" Delphine dared to ask, already dreading the answer.

"Hm. A few decades, at least. Perhaps even centuries." Paarthurnax estimated. Spitfire got bored of sitting in Delphine's hands and he jumped down, flopping rather gracelessly on the floor. It was his first attempt of even trying to fly, and she guessed it came from watching Paarthurnax, even as Spitfire scrabbled around in the snow, deciding that he didn't like it very much. At all.

"The entire rest of my life, in short." Delphine muttered. "That's it, the moment the Dragonborn gets back she can deal with this, she's still got centuries of life in her. I hope." The idea of having to give up Spitfire was causing a mixed feeling in her, as though - NO NO NO! DAMN IT! Delphine cursed herself. This journey was a bad idea, she was becoming attached to the damn tiny menace. Damn, cute tiny menace, when he coughed up a little cloud of snowflakes.

She wasn't going to deny calling him cute anymore. She couldn't. "Any pointers?" She asked, looking rather helpless and feeling it too. It was a feeling she hated.

"Keep him well fed on raw meats and talk to him, preferably as much as you can. He's not yet at the stage where he can talk back but he will be soon, and even if he can't understand you, it is good for the hadrimme, the mind." Paarthurnax answered, trying not to let out an amused sound as Delphine seemed puzzled at how she would manage that, even as he jumped back onto his word wall.

Well, she had what she came for, whether she liked it or not. "Talos help me and my sanity." She muttered under her breath, although Paarthurnax and Arngeir both heard it, even as she picked Spitfire off of the floor. "Thank you for the help, Paarthurnax." She thanked him sincerely, and turned to Arngeir, letting him lead her back down the mountain.

The Dragonborn had caused her trouble from the very beginning, but this was the icing on the cake. Delphine resigned herself to the fact that anything flammable would have to be moved out of Sky Haven Temple immediately, and to keep a few more fires lit for when it got... Cold. Spitfire was going to be a strong dragon, able to use both flame and frost. She hoped that the rumours she heard of dragons that knew how to drain life directly were just that, rumours, and even more so that Spitfire would not be capable of THAT too.

Delphine could practically feel the grey hairs forming already, and she was barely in the doors of High Hrothgar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the Blades now have a tiny little mascot to cause them trouble, whether they like it or not.
> 
> Things are all a bit unexpectedly serious and the next chapter is turning out hard to write, because I'm not good at writing anywhere near serious stuff unless it's soul crushing angst. So, this is just a bit of cuteness to break it up, entirely optional for you to read, and just to let you know I've not abandoned Dragon Police, in case anyone thought I had. Or even still reads it.
> 
> Also, 1000000% not serious and probably not compliant with Elder Scrolls lore but bite me. This whole fic was never intended to be serious anyway.


	10. I'll Rip Your Heart Out

Sariel and Yuuta set off at a fast pace, leaving the Brave Police headquarters behind soon enough. Yuuta had to run at times to keep up with Sariel, she strode purposefully through the city and fortunately, the residents had the sense to stay out of the way of a Dragonborn with purpose. Or maybe it was the armour and the weapons and the look of sure death on her face, or a combination of all of them. It didn’t matter. Yuuta stayed in Sariel’s shadow and insisted on only one thing, a detour to the Tomonaga residence. She let him have that and Yuuta packed a small bag, emptying his savings at the same time. His sisters weren’t home - Probably for the better - but he left a note on the table telling where he was and that Deckerd could explain more.

“Where are we going?” Yuuta asked, putting some clean clothes in his bag and closing it, deciding that he had finished enough of the packing.

“Where? I do not know exactly, just that it is somewhere…” Sariel closed her eyes, turning in a slow circle. “... That way.” She stopped, pointing out of the window towards the mainland, away from the city.

“How far that way?” Yuuta tilted his head, trying to think of all the places that way it could be.

“How far? Very far. A few days of travel at least but alas, I do not know your land, therefore I can’t say for certain when or where we will arrive.” Sariel shrugged, raising an eyebrow when Yuuta grinned.

“I know how to make it faster. Come on, we can take the shinkansen to the countryside.” Yuuta seemed pleased enough with his idea. Sariel didn’t question it, letting him grab her hand and drag her out of the door. He lead them through the city, past places that Sariel had not seen. She never ventured this way during her wandering and she was glad of it. The places was crowded with people and shady back alleys between large, over the top decorated shops and flashing signs. Everything about the busy city was unnatural to the Bosmer, having lived in a village half of her life. The other half was spent in Skyrim but compared to Tokyo and Nanamagari, the larger cities felt like little more than small towns. Maybe Nords just like to keep their distance from each other.

The train station was a mess of people as well. If Sariel didn’t grab Yuuta’s shoulder she may have lost him more than once. He lead them through the maze, buying two tickets from a machine and then somehow navigating his way past all the signs to the platform. She was about to ask just what exactly a shinkansen was, but the question was answered by the bullet train racing in to halt before them.

Crushing herself into a floating train full of people was something Sariel put on her list of things not to repeat. She let Yuuta find them somewhere to sit, taking a brief look around as they wandered almost the length of the shinkansen. “So… What do you think?” Yuuta asked a minute after they sat down.

Sariel studied him for a moment. “If you mean this ‘shinkansen’, I’ll form an actual opinion when we get to… Wherever you bought the tickets to.” Yuuta nodded.

“You’re not even questioning that it floats?” Yuuta put his chin on his hands, grinning. “It’s magnets that make it float, by the way, and because it’s floating it goes faster. I think it’s all pretty awesome.”

“I deal with mages on a regular basis, among other things. I’ve seen more strange and wonderful things.” Sariel shrugged slightly, and Yuuta seemed to deflate a little at that. “However, the technology and inventions in your world and how widespread they are are impressive, to me. You must surely be a people of genius, whether it be used for good or ill.”

The grin was back on Yuuta’s face. “Has there never been robots in Skyrim?” He asked, seemingly pleased at the prospect that he - Or at least his world - had introduced to the Dragonborn something completely new.

“Ahh… Yes. The Dwemer created several metallic servants, to work in and particularly to protect their underground cities. The most terrifying of these are the Dwarven Centurions, who stand at least twice or thrice the height of most Men or Mer and boast powerful attacks unlike anything else.” Yuuta let out a low whistle. “Few remain to guard the ruins though, and the techniques the Dwemer used to create them were lost when the entire race disappeared in the third era. Attempts to replicate the technology have failed.” Sariel explained, seeing Yuuta look even more impressed.

“How does an entire race just disappear? Was it all at once or did they vanish over time?” Yuuta asked, his head tilting slightly.

“Nobody knows. All we know is that their chief Tonal Architect struck the Heart of Lorkhan in the Red Mountain, after that, nothing. The entire race just vanished, instantly. When I first arrived here I thought you their descendants. In fact, you still may be.’ Sariel shrugged. “Arniel Gane at the College of Winterhold was recently investigating it. I helped him and at the end result of his experiment, he disappeared too. Left me only with Keening and the knowledge to summon his Shade, but we have no way of communicating.”

“That all sounds pretty impressive. What’s the Heart of Lorkhan?”

“Lorkhan is the dead God, he who wished for nothing at the beginning, and inadvertently created and sowed trouble into Mundus. Auri-El, known more widely as Akatosh the Dragon God of Time, slaid Lorkhan and tied his heart to an arrow, loosing it into the oceans of the horizon. The Heart of Lorkhan then became the Red Mountain of Morrowind.” Yuuta took all this in with a nod.

“That all sounds really dramatic. You have such a fascinating history there. Missing races, dead gods, dragons.” Yuuta sat back in his seat.

“War and bloodshed are the other colours of Tamriel’s history and indeed all of Nirn. Tamriel is but one continent, but the others were destroyed or disappeared long ago.” Sariel hummed. Yuuta nodded in understanding.

“Earth’s history has a lot of war too, and some very unpleasant stuff and things that give you nightmares. But there’s also nice things in there, and I prefer to focus on those.” Yuuta smiled brightly.

“That’s a good view to have, so long as you do not forsake the history of your ancestors.” Sariel nodded.

“So that matters to you as well, huh? Here it’s the elders who are in charge and we’re obligated to serve them however we can. Especially our own family.” Yuuta pulled a slight face but he didn’t say anything else against it.

“To some more than others. Nobility are proud of their heritage. Nords as a whole are proud of their family history and honour the greatest warriors among them. I’ve had that rub off on me over the years, even if none of my blood family are left alive. I don’t know their whole history and that is for the best.” She hummed, frowning. “I think none are left alive at least, and yet…” Sariel went quiet, shaking her head after a moment.

“Yet what?” Yuuta prodded.

“Yet something about that does not feel right. There is a part of it I am missing, I feel it, but I do not know what it could be. Not that it matters, I can no longer call myself the daughter of my mother, I have changed too much.” Sariel shrugged, sighing slightly.

“You don’t like that?” Yuuta tilted his head.

“My family may have been a mess, full of abuse, fear and hate, but it was still a family and I long to have what I sacrificed, parents and a home where I don’t have to fight every second. Don’t mistake the longing for regret though.” Sariel hummed, laying down on the small compartment bench. It wasn’t the most comfortable place, but she’d had worse.

“Who is Talos? I heard you mention him earlier.” Yuuta changed the track if the conversation, laying down as well and staring at Sariel. He could just about see her face under the table and it looked like she really planned to try and sleep there.

“Hm. Complicated." Sariel glanced over, seeing the way Yuuta was staring at her. He was fascinated by their conversation and soaking it all in. “Talos was a great general and fighter in his time. He was also Dragonborn, like me. The Greybeards called him to High Hrothgar on the Throat of the World and declared that with his Voice, he was destined to found a great Empire and rule it as Tiber Septim. He did so, among his many great accomplishments. Most Nords will have you tell that upon his death, the Divines made him one of them and here the Eight became Nine and Talos was named the Warrior God. However, the Altmer od the Aldmeri Dominion will say that no man can become an immortal, and they execute those that worship Talos and as part of a peace treaty with the Empire, force the Empire to do the same.” She explained, and there was a slight disgust in her tone.

“What do you believe?” Yuuta asked.

She smiled slightly, taking an amulet from her neck and passing it to Yuuta under the table. It resembled a heavy hammer hung from the chain - Yuuta found himself reminded of the Thor charms the Vikings had. “I worship Mighty Talos, as does Lydia, and that is the symbol of my belief. Feel the enchantment it holds, the power within you. A fragment of the strength of Talos Stormcrown, who reshaped the lands of Tamriel, but a fragment strong enough.”

Yuuta could feel it, the amazement he couldn’t hide on his face as he weighed it in his hand. Sariel’s smile grew, he believed too. “Keep it. I’ll find another when I return home.” Yuuta grinned widely, nodding as he put it on his neck. When next he glanced at Sariel, she had turned onto her side, facing the back of the seat. He took that to mean it was sleeping time and he supposed that he should try and do the same.

_ A great dragon circled overhead. It’s roars were decree, heeded by the other dragons, lower down, on rocks and mountains. It was as though they were listening, and at the great dragon’s instructions, they too roared. Humans cried, bleeding and burning as they were forced to build great temples and monuments to the dragons. Slaves. Serve or die. _

_ The ground shook and the grass burned, destroying the cities the Men tried to build for themselves. At the handle of whips were Dragon Priests, enacting their master’s will without question or hesitation. The dissidents were beaten, tortured, made to suffer beyond belief and bared for all to see, to quench rebellion. _

_ The voice of the wind echoed in his ears. Calm words, soothing words. The scene was changing. Men became stronger, more resilient. War. Liberation. The slaying of the dragons but even that was insurmountable. Voices. Shouting. Mortal Tongues. Defeating the great dragon, casting him away with an Elder Scroll. Days and nights of peace and prosperity followed in quick succession. Healing, growth, the building and loss of empires. _

_ The great dragon rose from the sun, and the world was burning once again. Men were destroyed. Crushed. Suffocating hopelessness and fear gripped his chest tightly. It was over. Too late. The world was beyond saving. Unable to recover, even with the resilience of Men. _

_ An angel of Akatosh descended from the heavens, her hand raised, music flowing eloquently from her lips, turning back the hands of time. Day and night passed, in reverse, devolving, back to the beginning, to nothing. The cycle began anew. Changed. He passed out of being, inconsequential in the grand scheme of time. _

Yuuta shot upright, wide awake, and it was by some miracle that he did not scream.

“Bad dream?” Sariel raised an eyebrow, watching the way Yuuta almost jumped out of his seat and span around to face her, seeing her sat cross legged on her seat watching him. Yuuta curled into himself, nodding. “What happened?”

“Who is the leader of dragons?” Yuuta asked instead of answering. Sariel looked taken aback at the question but she answered anyway.

“Akatosh is our father, Bormahu to us of Dragon Blood, therefore leader of the dragons. But as the God of Time he resides in Aetherius. It was Aldiun, the World Eater, who lead the dragon cult in Mundus.” She explained, shrugging. Yuuta nodded slightly. “What makes you ask that?”

"Are Dragonborns as destructive as dragons can be?" Yuuta asked, avoiding the question.

Sariel hummed to herself. “Perhaps moreso than you know. For an era the Empire of Tamriel was ruled by the Dragonborn Emperors, the Septim bloodline chose by Akatosh himself. There’s more to it than that, of course. In the eyes of a dragon, power is truth, so therefore whoever is strongest must be the one who is right. Domination is in their blood and their very nature, to prove their strength, pride and truth. An exception to this is Paarthurnax, the pacifist dragon who leads the Greybeards, but he made himself an exception to most of the Dov beliefs.”

“And?” Yuuta prodded. He supposed she intended him to draw his own conclusions but he wanted to get it out of her.

“I thought you were a detective, Yuuta?” She quirked an eyebrow.

“I am.” Yuuta mock sniffed. “Dragonborns are just as susceptible to the will to dominate, right?”

“Nailed it.” Sariel nodded. “That’s why most Dragonborns are seen in history as conquerors and fierce rulers. It’s easy for us, with the power we hold, to rule over men, mer and beastfolk alike. It’s been suggested to me several times that I should claim the seat of Skyrim’s High Queen for myself but I’m not fit to rule anything. Nor do I particularly want to.”

“But the lure is still there.” Yuuta guessed.

“In the recesses of my mind where most of the time I’m too busy to pay attention to it, yes.” She didn’t deny it. When openly asked she would never deny it.

“What would happen if you ever… Did succumb to the want to dominate everything?” Yuuta asked quietly, half fearing the answer. Sariel was silent for a moment.

“If I am ever to go mad or power hungry, Lydia has sworn to kill me. Let us hope though, that she never needs to act on that promise.” She answered eventually. Yuuta just nodded. Lydia could do that, right? She was big, and tough, and could kill dragons as well. He supposed she must have to be able to do that. Smiling after a moment, Yuuta looked out of the window and nearly jumped out of his seat, scrambling to grab his bag from the shelf, startling Sariel in the process.

“AH! We’re nearly at our stop, I can’t believe I slept through the whole journey!” He cried, almost losing his balance and falling as the shinkansen pulled into the station, slowing down. Shaking her head slightly, Sariel followed him at a more leisured pace. They were pretty much the only ones left on the train, making exiting a lot easier as Yuuta dashed down the train. The platform was empty except for a security guard and two cultists. Yuuta almost crashed into them in his haste to get going - The kid was excited, very much so, to get going - only just managing to stop himself. They stared at each other for a long, long moment until Sariel interrupted it by putting her hands on Yuuta’s shoulders and giving him a gentle push. He practically jumped out of his skin.

“Come on, no time like the present Yuuta. I’m sure our new friends are just waiting for the perfect opportunity to stab us in the back but that’s nothing new.” She hummed. Yuuta caught on quickly enough that they weren’t fighting there, letting himself be guided through the station to the outside. At some point, Sariel had apparently learned which word was ‘exit’ on the signs.

“You seem awfully calm about this.” Yuuta noted, glancing over his shoulder to see that the cultists had disappeared. Where to he didn’t know, and he wasn’t sure if it was better or worse that way.

“If a day goes by where someone doesn’t try to stab me in the back or gut me in the street I get disappointed. It’s a pretty regular occurrence.” Sariel shrugged. “People hate me just for existing because my existence goes against what they want in the world, in more ways than one.”

“Oh.” Yuuta answered quietly. That wasn’t really the answer he had been expecting. Then again, he wasn’t sure what he had been expecting. They passed through the small town quickly enough.

On the other side was an expanse of forest, trees and green plants as far as Yuuta could see. It got dense pretty quickly and he wasted little time starting to hurry into it, expecting Sariel to follow him. It was only ten minutes in that he looked around, alone. Twigs cracked around him and he remembered the cultists that were following them. His hand gripped the handle of his dagger tightly, tucked under his belt.

Sariel swung around the tree branch just above him, legs hooked over the branch, hanging upside down and ending at face level with Yuuta. He panicked, slashing at her and cutting her cheek, jumping back, slipping and landing on his butt in the process. “You scared me!” He huffed, standing up slowly while Sariel got down from the tree, landing silently on the ground. The blood that was running up her face slowly started oozing down.

“Sorry, Yuuta. I shouldn’t have been so quiet but it was instinct. I’m Bosmer, an elf of the forest, and I can’t deny my gut. Which was to get off the ground immediately - The floor of Valenwood is more dangerous than you would imagine - and be silent.” Sariel apologised. Yuuta stared for a moment before sighing.

“It’s fine. Sorry for attacking you.” Yuuta apologised. He was pretty sure she didn’t even notice it though and the grin she got on her face only added to that feeling.

“Nonsense! That was a blow well struck and some good reactions. Just don’t end up on your butt next time.” Sariel laughed. Yuuta found himself staring for a long moment, not entirely sure how to react to that or what to think, shaking his head slightly.

“Your mentality of encouraging fighting is still something I struggle to come to terms with. We actively discourage that sort of thing here, and only use force when needed.” Yuuta sighed.

Sariel studied him for a moment, reading his expression and garnering insight from the words he didn’t say. “When needed is more often than you would like. Our reasons are not so dissimilar. I also use force only when needed, you have seen a fraction of my power and know what I am capable of. While there are those in Tamriel that thrive and feed from violence, battle and bloodshed, I am not one. But it is because people like that exist that we are encouraging of at least basic combat skill, not because we like it but because it is necessary to survive.”

Yuuta nodded. “I’ve never had to fight like this before, although I have faced threats to my life. But there was always Deckerd and the Brave Police there to save me, even when I thought there wasn’t…” He trailed off, shuddering, clearly remembering something unpleasant. Sariel crouched, placing a hand on Yuuta’s shoulder to ground him again.

“Most people are defeated when they realise their life is truly in danger. They lose their nerve, and cower. I’ve seen it many times. But that’s not the case with you. Even so young, you have more courage and sturdiness than half the greatest warriors in Tamriel.” Sariel smiled slightly. “And while Deckerd and the others are not here, you have me to save you, whatever small reassurance that can provide. I promised I would let nothing harm you and I’ll stick by that.”

Yuuta smiled briefly, although it faltered again, this time to self doubt. “About that. I’m no fighter, I don’t want to disappoint you. And I know that a few hours of practice is nowhere near enough training to be capable-”

“But you’ve proven you have the instincts.” Sariel pointed at the cut on her cheek. “You can survive by yourself, at the very least, even if prolonged fight it outside your skill boundary.” She mused for a moment, chuckling slightly, earning a raised eyebrow from Yuuta. “Ah, you and Runa would make a fine pair. She has the skill, able to handle a blade better than most common bandits or lowly soldiers. But she always tries to impress me, and puts her life in danger more often than not. And when she realises the trouble she is in, she panics. You and her could learn well from each other.”

“Maybe.” Yuuta hummed, momentarily considering just how unlikely that was to happen - Then again, Sariel and Lydia being in his world were equally as unlikely, and yet it happened. Perhaps he should not assume what was impossible or not, this whole mess serving as an eye opener to the reality: Even unlikely or previously thought impossible things could happen. How, he did not know, that was for the scientist to ponder over but he would take it as he came. Yuuta looked up at the sunlight coming through the leaves in the trees. “Can you take me into the trees?” He asked after a moment. There was no way he could climb up there himself but if Sariel gave him a boost or better yet carried him up there, then that would be nice.

Sariel smiled by way of an answer and picked Yuuta up in one arm, holding him as one holds a small child against her side. Once he was settled from the initial surprise she lept upwards, grabbing a low hanging branch with her free hand and hoisting herself up. Yuuta found himself marvelling at her strength and agility, to be able to carry him and move so effortlessly even with all her armour and weapons. And silently too. He definitely didn’t want to be on the end of a sneaking attack from her. Shadowmaru had given hints at just how good she was at those.

“You want to come tree running with me or do you think it’s best if I carry you?” Sariel asked, snapping Yuuta out of his moment of impression.

“Ah, eh, I’ll try to keep up with you.” Yuuta answered with a small delay, wriggling himself free of Sariel’s hold and balancing on the branch. Certainly he was nowhere near as well practiced and skilled as moving in the trees, but he had not spent summers climbing them for nothing. It was a chance to prove one of his small talents, in his eyes, and he found himself wanting to prove that he could do at least something by himself to her.

He guessed that was exactly how Runa felt. Having the Dragonborn as an adoptive parent must be one hell of an experience, no matter what she said.

Sariel flew through the trees with ease and almost total silence while Yuuta stumbled a bit more behind her, jumping and scrabbling from branch to branch. They must have moved like that for about an hour, with Sariel carrying Yuuta towards the end. While fun, it was hard work for the kid to haul himself around like a monkey. Night was descending on them though, and they dropped down into a small clearing to make a camp, or the closest thing they could manage to one. It was more like them laying in the grass, since neither of them had a bedroll or sleeping bag.

That wasn’t bad, though, Yuuta mused as he found a comfortable grass spot to lay on, using his long jacket as a sheet under him. The ground was nice and Sariel looked right at home, not bothered in the least by any dirt or grass as she flopped herself down.

“You wouldn’t happen to have packed any food, would you, or am I going to have to go hunting?” She asked after a minute, turning her head from the sky to look at Yuuta. He tossed her a packet of crisps by way of answer, gaining a fascinated look and then snort when Sariel opened the packet and ate one. “Tasty, but I meant real food, not cooked potato slices covered in flavourings. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Yuuta bit his lip not to chuckle as Sariel tossed the packet back at him and got up, taking her bow and vanishing into the trees. He’d brought some sandwiches too, although he supposed it was her fault if she missed out by not sticking around long enough. Or that would be his excuse if she caught him munching one, at least.

She did.

Yuuta was surprised at how quickly Sariel returned, snatching the other half of his sandwich away from him before he could even really react and process that. “That was quick.” He pointed out, huffing slightly as she ate the sandwich half.

“I told you I would be a minute. I went hunting for food, and I found some.” Sariel hummed, seeing the way Yuuta squinted at her for a moment before he caught on.

“You were waiting. You knew I had other food.”

She just gave him a small grin and laid down on her back to sleep, making Yuuta huff with irritation before laying down, facing the other way.

The night cooled quickly and after about an hour Yuuta found himself shivering, curling up into a ball. He had packed himself a little blanket, but it was too thin to provide him any real warmth. His instinct was to call Deckerd but as he drew his badge, he realised that wasn’t possible. The Brave Detective was probably hard at work himself, and would take too long to get to them. Yuuta sighed in resignation, shuddering again as a cold gust hit him.

“You are cold.” Yuuta jumped, turning over to see Sariel staring at him, her head tilted to the side. It was a statement, not a question. “Come here.” She instructed, waving him over. Yuuta crawled to her, putting one hand on her chestplate. He quickly pulled it away.

“Your armour is cold.” He offered by way of explanation. Sariel pressed the back of her gauntlet to her cheek, humming slightly.

“It’s not that cold, but I can see why you think that. It’s not a problem.” She sat up, taking off the chestplate and the top half of her armour, showing the brown tunic underneath. Yuuta felt his jaw hang open slightly, noticing two things in the moonlight: How muscular she was, and how many scars covered her skin. Realising he was staring, he muttered an apology and laid down, his back to her chest when she settled behind him. Sariel chuckled, wrapping one arm over him and the other was outstretched, a small flame spell in her palm. Yuuta moved that arm so that the spell was warming his face just so before falling asleep without trouble.

* * *

 

A day and a half of travelling greeted them afterwards, first by boat and then up mountains. Yuuta lost track of where he was - Geography had never been one of his best classes - but he knew they were getting there. He could feel the tension in the air, and a feeling he couldn’t quite place his finger on but it made his hair stand on end and his spine tingle.

Magicka, Sariel had told him. He was sensing a concentration of Magicka. The Dragon Priests were known to be expert mages, but apparently even this was a new level. Like a tear into Aetherius, whatever that was, but at the centre of this tearing feeling lay their battle. A feeling of dread was mounting in his stomach.

The top of the mountain had been destroyed, a large crater inside where they met their adversary. A mask of terror hid Kosuke’s face and Yuuta found it more unnerving than he wanted to admit.

“You have brought me yourself and the Elder Scroll. I thank you.” Kosuke began, his tone more than smug.

“If you want either, you will pry them from my cold, dead hands, and may Bormahu strike you down for your arrogance.” Sariel shot back without hesitation, drawing her greatsword. Yuuta couldn’t follow what was happening but he drew his gun as well, pointing it at Kosuke with as still hand as he could manage.

“How convenient, your death is exactly what I need. That makes things much easier.” Kosuke laughed. Sariel didn’t flinch, a hard and unimpressed look on her face. Yuuta couldn’t see through the mask but he felt the frown Kosuke had. “Mortal men would run from me. You are resigning yourself to death.” Kosuke snarled, charging spells in his hands.

“I am no mortal man.” Sariel answered, dodging the spells and bringing her sword around and up, Kosuke only just dodging it. “But you are. You have the skill of a common petty thief or bandit cur, barely able to hold a sword or cast even the most novice spells a child could manage. All your power, is in that mask!”

Kosuke snarled, throwing spell after spell, only just dodging Sariel’s attacks. He was on the back foot and he knew it, even with the hefty weight of her greatsword and armour Sariel was agile enough to avoid his magics. He needed an advantage, and he spotted one soon enough. Yuuta wasn’t a fighter. It was painstakingly obvious from the look on his face and the way he tried to follow them with his eyes, not even aiming the gun anymore.

Kosuke could grab him easily, holding an arm around Yuuta’s neck and using the child as a body shield. Yuuta flailed and squirmed as Kosuke grabbed his wrist and squeezed, the pain causing him to drop his gun. Yuuta was almost certain his wrist was broken, gasping and crying out as agony shot up his arm and the cracking of bone could faintly be heard.

“Nikriin.” Sariel spat, bring her sword around in an arc, the blade whistling past Kosuke’s hair as he dodged, missing both him and Yuuta by a mere fraction. Yuuta whimpered quietly, terrified. He knew fear, but he’d never had death pass that close to him before. But even that could never leave him inactive.

Kosuke was still wriggling, weaving and casting spells, the Magicka electrifying Yuuta’s entire body and making his hair stand on ends. Seeing a gap in the armour of the arm holding him, Yuuta steeled himself and on a moment of impulse bit down, his teeth sinking into flesh and piercing the skin. It was harder than intended, but Kosuke yelled in agony and launched Yuuta away, leaving the child winded and with the taste of mixed blood in his mouth when he hit the rocky ground. Instinct guided him. He grabbed his gun and brought it up, aiming somewhere in the direction of Sariel and Kosuke, shooting twice.

One bullet flew through the air, hitting Kosuke’s mask and cracking it. Vaguely, Yuuta heard the sound of a dragon’s roar and Lydia yelling. IT was too much of a blur for him to really distinguish though, as Sariel brought her clenched fist into the crack of the mask, shattering it to pieces and causing an explosion of Magicka, white and blinding. Deckerd shouted and Yuuta saw and felt the big hands grab him, but it didn’t really register until the dust settled. Sariel, Lydia and Durnehviir were gone without a trace. The second bullet had pieced Kosuke in the chest. Hayato clutched his brother’s limp body, wailing in distress and crying out, unable to believe it.

Yuuta had taken a life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap yes, I am still writing this. This chapter gave grief though but it let me carry on with the rest. It practically writes itself at this point. Updates will be a lot more frequent, if anyone is still reading this!


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